ariel oni buchanan · oni buchanan’s concert programming is often interdisciplinary in nature,...

ONI BUCHANAN piano

www.arielartists.com G [email protected] TO ENFORCE art to enchant

ARTISTSArielbiography

C oncert pianist Oni Buchanan brings grace, agility, and intensity to an incredible range of piano literature. She specializes in music

by women composers of the 21st century, with particular focus on the music of Cindy Cox, Mei-Fang Lin, Annie Gosfield, Missy

Mazzoli, and Carolyn Yarnell, among many others. In addition, Ms. Buchanan is a natural interpreter of French music, and her

gorgeous performance projects span several centuries, from the miniature keyboard works of François Couperin to the lush expanses of

Ravel to the jubilant textures of Messiaen. She also finds excep-

tional affinity with the polyphonic genius of Bach and Schumann,

as well as with the lyrical and percussive mastery of such compos-

ers as Prokofiev, Bartók, Stravinsky, and Villa-Lobos.

Oni Buchanan’s concert programming is often interdisciplinary in

nature, directly engaging the intimate connections between the

arts, and frequently including adventurous contemporary works

alongside established repertoire, bringing works from disparate

centuries into fascinating and enlightening conversation. In ad-

dition to solo programming, she has co-curated (with poet Jon

Woodward) several large-scale interdisciplinary performance

projects. Their first project, “Machines,” featured the machines

and films of kinetic sculptor Arthur Ganson exhibited alongside

live performances of matched contemporary musical works.

They then produced “Four Quartets: Variations,” moored by the

performances of four vocalizing actors and four poets interact-

ing with excerpted and remixed text of T. S. Eliot. Most recently,

they commissioned a concert-length work for piano, spoken

text, and electronics from renowned electroacoustic composer

John Gibson. The piece, called Uncanny Valley (after Jon Wood-

ward’s serial poem of the same name), was given its world

premiere at the University of Michigan Museum of Art in Sep-

tember 2012, and is scheduled to be performed throughout the

country at venues including Smith College, Harvard University,

UC Berkeley, and many others.

Ms. Buchanan has performed solo recitals in major cities

throughout the U.S., at such venues as the National Gallery of

Art, the Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concerts, the Center for

New Music and Audio Technologies (CNMAT), the University of

Iowa Center for New Music, the Galapagos Art Space, the Lane

Series, the Baltimore Museum of Art, and the Harvard University

Hall Concert Series, and many others. She has performed internationally in major South American cities including Buenos Aires, Rio

de Janeiro, Brasília, São Paulo, Porto Alegre, and Montevideo, as well as in Canadian cities including Guelph, Waterloo, Thunder Bay,

and Charlottetown. Ms. Buchanan received her Master’s degree in piano performance from the New England Conservatory of Music,

her Bachelor’s degree in music (as well as English) from the University of Virginia, and conducted three years of her music studies at

PHOTO BY JON WOODWARD

ONI BUCHANAN piano


ARTISTSAriel

the University of Iowa School of Music while pursuing her M.F.A. in poetry from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. Her teachers have

included Russell Sherman, Stephen Drury, Daniel Epstein, Patricia Zander, Uriel Tsachor, and Mimi Tung. Her discography includes

three solo piano CDs on the independent Velvet Ear Records label, with a fourth CD scheduled for release in November 2012.

Oni is also an award-winning poet. Her third poetry book, Must a Violence, was published by the University of Iowa Press in

October 2012 as part of its celebrated Kuhl House Poets series, curated by poet/editor Mark Levine. Her second book of poetry,

Spring (University of Illinois Press, 2008), was selected by Mark Doty as a winner of the National Poetry Series, and also received

the 2009 Massachusetts Book Award. Her first book, What Animal (UGA Press, 2003), was chosen by Fanny Howe as winner of the

University of Georgia Press Contemporary Poetry Series competition. Ms. Buchanan’s poems are featured in many anthologies

including The Best American Poetry 2004 and have been published in numerous journals across the country.

biography (cont.)

P H O T O B Y J O N W O O D WA R D

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ARTISTSAriel

FOREST, VALLEY, SKY

Cindy Cox, Sylvan Pieces (2009)

John Gibson, Uncanny Valley (2012, for piano/speaker/electronics),

with poet Jon Woodward

Carolyn Yarnell, The Same Sky (2000, for piano/electronics/video)

The musical journey of “Forest, Valley, Sky” takes the listener

through very different landscapes: from a forest swelling with

life, into a valley of echoes, and finally to a rushing, ecstatic sky.

Cindy Cox’s Sylvan Pieces, written for solo piano, explores various

deceptively simple melodic gestures and then begins to layer

them, creating fascinating textures that evolve through interaction

and juxtaposition. Next, poet Jon Woodward joins the performance

for Uncanny Valley, commissioned by Jon and Oni, and composed

for piano, spoken text, and electronic samples. The piece explores

the phenomenon of “semantic satiation,” taking words to the

brink of nonsense (and into the realm of pure sound) through

extremes of repetition. The Same Sky brings a euphoric rush of blue

molecules and bright light. Written for piano and electronics, the

soloist and the tape part mirror each other in breathless surging

notes that converge and diverge, merging the identities of the

human and inhuman, and blurring the boundary where human

capacity ends and technological ability extends. A breathtaking

video of the sky with its surging clouds is simultaneously

projected on the inside of the raised piano lid, visually locking

with the rapturous flood of music.

PROGRAM OFFERED OCTOBER AND NOVEMBER, 2013.

SYLVAN PIECES

Deborah Kavasch, As the Deer Pants for Streams of Water

Maurice Ravel, Jeux d’eau

Ravel, Ma mère l’oye (Mother Goose Suite)

Cindy Cox, Sylvan Pieces

Ravel, Pavane pour une infante défunte (Pavane for a Dead Princess)

Béla Bartók, Out of Doors Suite, Sz. 81

Cox, The blackbird whistling/Or just after

In Oni’s “Sylvan Pieces” program, she explores the music and

program offerings


ONI BUCHANAN piano


ARTISTSArielprogram offerings (cont.)the magic of the forest. We enter the woodland world with Debo-

rah Kavasch’s fleeting and lithe perpetual motion piece tracing a

deer’s desire (As the Deer Pants for Streams of Water), following it

to the water source itself in Ravel’s Jeux d’eau. The enchantments

of the forest open into the strange fairytale worlds of Ravel’s

Mother Goose Suite, which we find populated by Sleeping Beauty,

Tom Thumb, shimmering pagodas, Beauty and the Beast, and a

fairy garden. Cindy Cox’s five Sylvan Pieces are the centerpiece of

the program, featuring deceptively simple melodies that sound

as if they were woven from ancient legends, sunlight glinting

through leaves, or from the layered heartbeats of unseen animals.

In the program’s second half, the otherworldly forest deities echo

through the solemn, exalted processional of Pavane pour une

infante défunte. Bartók introduces rustic forest scenes in his Out

of Doors Suite, which also features a mysterious barcarolle, the

night music of insects, and the fast-paced drama of hunters on

the chase. The program closes with the sounds and echoes of

birdsong in Cindy Cox’s The blackbird whistling/Or just after.

PROGRAM OFFERED IN MARCH AND APRIL, 2014.

UNCANNY VALLEY

WITH POET JON WOODWARD

In this program (a newly-commissioned concert-length piece by

composer John Gibson), the piano performance of Oni Buchanan

joins and reflects the spoken text of the poem “Uncanny Valley” as

performed by its author, poet Jon Woodward. “Uncanny Valley” is

a long serial poem in 16 sections, meant to be read out loud, with

numerous optional repeats throughout the text. These repetitions

act as accumulations of sound, maddening as well as hypnotic, and

Gibson’s piece provides a sonic environment in which they can truly

blossom. Although the pacing is determined by the two perform-

ers, the musical specificity of each section (from Morse code to sine

waves to jazz to a brief quote of Schumann) reflects the poem text in

ever-different ways. Digital samples triggered by the reader enmesh

the piano and spoken text, haunting the music with echoes of itself.

Extending outward from the phenomenon of “semantic satiation”

(whereby a single word loses all apparent meaning and identity

when repeated for even a short duration), this program investigates

whether or not the same satiation is possible with phrases, sen-

tences, pairs of verse lines, or musical forms.

In 1970, roboticist Masahiro Mori coined the term “uncanny

valley” to describe the emotional and empathic chasm between

humans and imperfect human simulacra, a gap created by their

imperfection. This program searches out what is most uncanny,

and most human, in both language and music.


concerto offerings

J.S. BACH (1685-1750)Keyboard Concerto No. 1 in D minor, BWV 1052

BEETHOVEN (1770-1827)Concerto No. 3 in C minor, Op. 37

CHOPIN (1810-1849)Concerto No. 1 in E minor, Op. 11

RAVEL (1875-1937)Concerto in G major

BARTÓK (1881-1945)Concerto No. 3 in E major, Sz. 119

SHOSTAKOVICH (1906-1975)Concerto No.1 for Piano, Trumpet and String Orchestra, Op. 35

ONI BUCHANAN piano


ARTISTSAriel

PIANO MASTERCLASSES

Oni offers piano masterclasses to students of all ages and levels.

She intends her classes to be simultaneously rigorous and a great

deal of fun. In addition to exploring interpretive possibilities

and offering technical solutions, Oni works with students in

the language of imagery and association to help them draw

from outside resources to produce the sounds they need at the

keyboard. Oni endeavors to make all students feel welcome to

perform, and strives to empower them, revealing for them the

validity of their own musical intuitions and the terrific range of

their imaginations.

PIANO LECTURE/DEMONSTRATIONS

Oni is available to give lecture/demonstrations of many varieties,

all involving performance at the keyboard interspersed with

discussion and spoken insight. Some of Oni’s specialized lecture/

demonstration topics include:

• BEHIND-THE-SCENES EXPLORATION OF THE REPERTOIRE IN

HER CONCERT PROGRAM, in which she discusses the music and

offers insights from the performer’s perspective, with excerpts

and examples played at the keyboard

• EXAMINATION OF IMAGES IN MUSIC, including a discussion

on how finding specific imagery within musical structures allows

a performer access to a vast creative palette of sound possibility

and expressive approach

• INVESTIGATION OF INTERDISCIPLINARY APPROACHES TO

MUSIC, exploring the relationships between music performance

and other artistic disciplines (poetry, visual arts, dance), and how

these connections enrich performance

• DEMONSTRATION AND DISCUSSION OF THE MUSIC OF

CONTEMPORARY WOMEN COMPOSERS, featuring works by

such composers as Cindy Cox, Annie Gosfield, Mei-Fang Lin,

Carolyn Yarnell, Missy Mazzoli, Joan Tower, and more.

additional offerings

Oni is able to present lecture/demonstrations for any age-

group, and is happy to design versions of any demonstration

for elementary, middle, or high school groups of students, as

well as for undergrad or graduate students, and for members

of the community.

POETRY READINGS / MANDRAKE PRESENTATIONSAs a published poet and a winner of the 2007 National Poetry

Series and the 2009 Massachusetts Book Award, Oni is available

for poetry readings as well as digital literature presentations

featuring her acclaimed kinetic poem, “The Mandrake

Vehicles.” Oni’s third book of poetry, Must a Violence, has just

been published by the University of Iowa Press in October

2012, as part of their celebrated Kuhl House Poets series. Her

second poetry book, Spring, was selected by Mark Doty for

the National Poetry Series, and published by the University of

Illinois Press. Her first book, What Animal, won the University

of Georgia Press Contemporary Poetry Series competition and

was published in 2003. Oni’s poems have been featured in

numerous anthologies including The Best American Poetry 2004

and Legitimate Dangers: American Poets of the New Century, and

have been published in many print and online literary journals,

appearing most recently in Fence, The Boston Review, New

Orleans Review, Conduit, The Laurel Review, Columbia Poetry

Review, Gulf Coast, and jubilat. Among her many recent honors,

Oni received the Stanley P. Young Fellowship in Poetry from the

Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference in 2006, and was one of the

Poetry Society of America’s New American Poets of 2005.

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ONI BUCHANAN piano


ARTISTSArieladditional offerings (cont.)

POETRY WORKSHOPS AND POETRY CRAFT CLASSES

Oni enjoys working with poets of all ages, and has conducted

poetry workshops with high school poetry classes, undergraduate

poetry workshops, graduate-level poets, and adults. She has held

individual conferences with undergraduate and graduate poetry

students, and has run poetry craft classes for groups of adults as

well as groups of students ranging in size from 3 class members to

100 participants. In workshops and private conferences, Oni works

with the students on their own poems, looking at what the poems

themselves are accomplishing on the page, and what revision

possibilities the materials suggest. In craft classes, Oni works with

groups to examine aspects of poetic production, with plenty of

in-the-moment writing games and interactive exercises to open

up new vistas of linguistic exploration, fodder gathering, and word

generation for all participants. Her specialty craft classes include

“Image Rhyme in Poetry” as well as workshops on Repetition/

Incantation, and how to use games and constraints to produce

material.

ENTREPRENEURIAL TECHNIQUES WORKSHOP

In her Entrepreneurial Techniques Workshop, Oni – who has

built her own performance career from scratch, is the author of

three published poetry books, and is the founder and director

of a successful artist management company – offers insights on

entrepreneurial business techniques and advice on how to build

an identity as an artist, as well as a concert career. Topics covered

include curated programming, interdisciplinary collaboration, press

kit design, website necessities, marketing basics, concert residency

offerings, regional tour building, networking insights, ethical

business practices, and maintaining a solid artistic foundation built

on work, ideals, and thoroughness. This hour-long workshop is best

suited for aspiring undergraduate- and graduate-level musicians.


ONI BUCHANAN piano


ARTISTSArieltestimonials

“Oni Buchanan was terrific...she packed our largest auditorium

and gave a stunning concert that is still being talked about.

Several hundred students, faculty and visitors turned out for what

many would recall as the highlight of an extraordinary week that

brought writers from around the country and featured film and

other musical performances. Oni performed an amazing themati-

cally interesting and technically challenging concert that left the

audience breathless, then cheering.”

–Philip Gerard, Chair, Department of Creative Writing, University of

North Carolina Wilmington

“The National Gallery of Art music department was pleased to

present pianist Oni Buchanan in concert on March 10, 2010...

Ms. Buchanan’s energetic presentation of the music drew a warm

response from the audience, many of whom rose immediately to

their feet at the conclusion of the program. There was also a larger

than usual amount of post-concert conversation and commentary

among the audience members, some of whom sought me out to

share their reaction to the program. It supported my conviction

that this project had been extremely worthwhile.”

–Stephen Ackert, Head of the Music Department, National Gallery of Art

“Oni Buchanan is a species unto herself. Her playing is informed

by a persuasively lyrical touch in the service of great poise and

charm. No less affable than intelligent, her combination of brains,

devotion, and personality produces a highly principled and attrac-

tive approach to art and to music.”

–Russell Sherman, Distinguished Artist in Residence, New England

Conservatory, Boston, MA

“Oni Buchanan is a lovely person and a great artist. The audi-

ence responded with the warmest applauses, particularly in

regards to the Villa-Lobos. Her interpretation of Rudepoêma

was completely full of passion; I’ve never heard someone play

that piece bringing this variety of sound and character as she

did. Absolute success!”

–Riva Fineberg, Diretora Cultural, Instituto Brasileiro de Administ-

ração Municipal (IBAM), Rio de Janeiro, BRAZIL

“Oni Buchanan gave a very fine performance of a carefully

crafted program exploring music associated with nighttime,

ranging from Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata of 1801 to a piece

composed in 2000 by Kelly-Marie Murphy. To enhance the

audience’s experience, she provided extraordinarily informative

program notes. She is an excellent young musician whose po-

etic sensibilities come through in her playing and her program-

ming. She was deservedly greeted at the end of the concert

with enthusiastic applause and bravos. This fine young artist is

exactly the kind of musician the Myra Hess series is designed to

showcase, and she would be an asset to any recital series.”

–Ann Murray, Executive Director, International Music Foundation,

Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concert Series, Chicago, IL

“Oni Buchanan’s residency included work in both poetry and

music, two arts in which she excels. A thoughtful and intelligent

person, Oni plays with great interpretive and technical facility.

Her program for our concert series concentrated on the musical

interpretation of some carefully selected poetry. Her introduc-

tions were cogent and added enormously to the enjoyment of

the music. Our audience responded in a most positive way and

immediately requested her return.”

–Jane Ambrose, Director, UVM Lane Series, Burlington, VT

ariel oni buchanan · oni buchanan’s concert programming is often interdisciplinary in nature,...

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