ISU’s 2022 Distinguished Researcher, Dr. Thom Hasenpflug, an ISU Professor of Music, Percussion and Composition, talks about his journey as a percussionist, music composer, and educator. He helps listeners understand how a creative artist is also a distinguished researcher. Dr. Hasenpflug and host Marty Blair listen to several of his recent compositions, discuss how they came about, and ways in which they help listeners feel and experience what the composer intended. Music is “good” if it moves a listener, or makes her feel something; bad music creates listener apathy.
Two of the pieces discussed in this episode can be accessed on YouTube. Dr. Brad Meyer plays Hasenpflug’s soothing 8 minute “Looking Down to See the Sky” composition written after a snorkeling experience in Cozumel, Mexico. https://youtu.be/BpG2rZzVB3Y Hasenpflug’s internationally-renowned percussion quartet composition, Bicksa, remains one of the most widely-programmed collegiate percussion works of the past 30 years. International performances of his works have occurred in Vienna, London, Barcelona, Moscow, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Dublin, Brazil, Venezuela, Sweden, to name a few. Listen to this rousing 4 and half minute performance by the James Madison University Percussion Ensemble in 2021. Turn up the volume and be ready to stomp your feet, tap your fingers and bob your head! https://youtu.be/vk1rkGP9Yb0
Learn more about Dr. Thom Hasenpflug and his 2022 distinction as ISU’s Distinguished Researcher: https://www.isu.edu/news/2022-spring/three-named-2022-idaho-state-distinguished-faculty.html
Dr. Hasenpflug supports an annual music scholarship for ISU students. Learn more about it here: https://isu.academicworks.com/opportunities/18909
The chapel that Thom refers to in the interview (around 10:00)
Dunstaffnage Castle - Wikipedia
Guest:
Dr. Thom Hasenpflug, Professor of Music, Percussion and Composition, ISU College of Arts and Letters.
https://www.isu.edu/music/about/faculty/staffdirectoryentries/hasenpflug-thom-.html
