ACMI 2024: Traverse Octet by Patrick O'Malley

As part of the 2024 Akropolis Chamber Music Institute, Akropolis and participants premiered new works by 4 participant composers.

"Traverse Octet" was composed by Patrick O'Malley and performed by Lauren Radeschi (flute), Tim Gocklin (oboe), Noemi Bender (clarinet), Matt Landry (saxophone), Tucker Hall-Klingensmith (bass clarinet), Catie Brenmark (bassoon), Max Hinton (piano), and Jonah Schertz (percussion).

The composer provides the following description of "Traverse Octet" ~

Traverse Octet begins in a light, dancing place which is then obliterated completely by an opposite character. The ensuing music is a journey to rediscover and rebuild that joyful starting location. The perspective of the music changes several times during this trip, from rambling patterns to introspective solos, rhythmic pulsing to flowing counterpoint. The word “traverse” not only embodies this changing and returning to musical ideas, but alludes to my own travels as a northern-Michigan person through the
Traverse City airport, as well as the Akropolis Chamber Music Institute’s location on Little Traverse Bay for which the piece was written.

Patrick O’Malley is an award-winning composer of symphonic, chamber, and film music. Whether writing for an orchestra or electronic textures, his music embraces abstract worlds and emotions with the goal of igniting listeners’ imaginations. His classical works have been performed across the United States and Europe, and his film music has been heard in several American film festivals.

O’Malley has been recognized or performed by organizations including the Albany, Minnesota, Ft. Wayne, and Milwaukee Symphonies, the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s National Composer Intensive, The ASCAP Morton Gould Award, and The Aaron Copland House Residency. He was named Composer of the Year by the Sioux City Symphony in 2018, and made his Carnegie Hall debut with the New York Youth Symphony in 2021. O’Malley also serves as the arranger and a conductor for the video game concert series Journey LIVE with Grammy-nominated composer Austin Wintory. O’Malley completed his masters and doctoral degrees in music at the University of Southern California where he studied with Andrew Norman and Sean Friar. He divides his time between living in Los Angeles California, and Lake Charlevoix, Michigan.

Recorded at Voorhies Hall in Bay View, MI, August 10, 2024. Audio and video recorded by Dave Schall.

Find out more about the Akropolis Chamber Music Institute here: https://akropolisquintet.org/acmi/