Big ups to my composer compadre Ken Ueno. He’s had a heck of a busy year. In addition to an active teaching schedule at University of California-Berkeley, where he’s an Assistant Professor of Composition, he’s been busily composing, performing, and supervising recordings of his music.
His new disc on the BMOP/sound imprint—the only disc I’ve ever received in the mail with a warning label on it (extreme dynamic range)—is an engaging collection. Featuring the Boston Modern Orchestra Project, conducted by Gil Rose, its a collection of his concerti for other musicians—violist Wendy Richman, biwa player Yukio Tanaka, and shakuhachi performer Kiku Mitsuhashi—as well as works featuring his own overtone/throat singing. Another of his concerti, Like Dusted Sparks, written for percussionist Samuel Z. Solomon, appears on Deviation the new CD by the Boston Conservatory Wind Ensemble.