David Bithell

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Performance

     I am highly invested in contemporary performance practices and have worked actively as a contemporary trumpet player, improviser, conductor, and organizer of new music events in San Diego and the San Francisco Bay Area for the last ten years.  I have premiered several works for trumpet and live electronics and have organized performances of early experimental works for this combination.  In addition to contemporary classical music, I have been an active performer of traditional classical music, free jazz, and free improvisation.

    Below I have highlighted some recent projects:

Mouth-Piece sextet for solo trumpet with slide projection.  Composed by Kenneth Gaburo.
This work explores the connections between language and music in a very direct manner.  The phonemes of a poem written by the composer are "spoken" through the trumpet in an extremely stylized manner.  Slides simultaneously project the complex score as well as the poem and individual words.  I have devised a new realization of the slides utilizing Max/MSP allowing the performer to control the projections him/herself.
      I first performed this piece in August 2003 on the Kenneth Gaburo retrospective concert that I organized with bass player/composer Christopher Williams.  Later performed on the sfSoundSeries February 7th, 2004.

See more images Listen to me playing this work


 
"...the serpent-snapping eye" for trumpet, piano, percussion and 4-channel electronic sound.
Composed by Roger Reynolds.  Performed by Christopher Jones -- piano, Chris Froh -- percussion, and myself.  We first performed this piece on the sfSoundSeries, January 10th 2004 and subsequently on the Alea II concert at Stanford University, February 29th 2004.

Read Roger Reynolds' program notes Listen to us playing this work



Song of Songs a cantata for soprano, tenor, female chorus, and chamber orchestra.
Composed by Jorge Liderman.  Performed with the San Francisco Contemporary Music Players, the UC Berkeley Chamber Chorus, and soloists Elissa Johnston, Charles Blandy, Catherine Webster, Sara Colbum, Amelia Tirest.  Conducted by David Milnes (Marika Kuzma, chorus director).

The piece was premiered through UC Berkeley's CalPerformances and subsequently released on Bridge Records.

Purchase this CD
Listen to us playing this work

                                  

No More Much Yes Yes for trumpet and live electronics.
Composed by Ali Momeni in 1999.  Premiered by Ali (live electronics) and me (trumpet) on the Berkeley New Music Project in Hertz Hall, UC Berkeley.

The electronics use a combination of live processing and triggering of trumpet samples that Ali and I made.


Listen to us playing this work


Check back for links to other samples of me playing: