Thursday, May 23, 2002 Older Editions

Musician to show AHS students classical composition, 21st-century style

By Ben Hellman
Bach, Beethoven, Bernofsky... Who?

Bach, Beethoven, Bernofsky... Who?

Bernofsky. One thing that separates Lauren Bernofsky from the ranks of celebrated composers is that Bernofsky is not a dead white guy. She told the one about the composer sitting on an airplane working over his final music notes for a rehearsal. The guy sitting next to him asks what he's doing and the composer explains to him that he is preparing his piece for a performance. The man looks down at the handwritten musical notes and says, "I thought music was already written."

Composer Lauren Bernofsky

Centuries after the guys with the powdered wigs are gone, 34-year-old Bernofsky is still busy writing music.

This week she'll oversee the premiere of two of her pieces, performed by Andover High School students at their annual spring concert. The high school chorus, band and orchestra are each performing a piece by Bernofsky.

One of the cool things about being a living composer is that she can listen to the young artists practice her work and give her input to them. Another cool thing is that she can dedicate her pieces. She has dedicated her band composition, "Cloud 9," to the Andover High School Concert Band, directed by Joseph A. Wright. The piece is being published and when the thousands of copies are printed and distributed nationally, each will bear the composer's dedication to the Andover High School ensemble.

Bernofsky says she gets "100 percent fulfillment" in having her pieces played by the Andover students. "I love writing for kids," she said. "There is a need for high-quality music for young people."

Bernofsky said that her next pieces will be influenced by what she learns from watching the Andover students rehearse her work.

"Being at home composing is nothing like the hands on of being at a rehearsal. I'll see what's hard for them, what's easy for them," she said. Bernofsky also looks forward to breaking some stereotypes about composers. "The percentage of female composers is really low," said Bernofsky.

Bernofsky lives in Maryland, but this concert is not her introduction to New England, or to Andover. Bernofsky taught violin to Andover students while pursuing her master's degree in composition from New England Conservatory.

She was invited to Andover by Julie Diehl, strings teacher and orchestra director. Bernofsky took her bachelors in violin from the Hartt School of Music. She began playing the instrument when she was 7-years-old.

But Bernofsky likes to write for other instruments, and prides herself on her ability to make good use of instrumentation in her composing.

"I want to write for each instrument as if I play that instrument," said Bernofsky. Her perfect pitch helps her to do that. She knows that the French horn sounds pinched once it reaches a certain pitch. She pays attention to the way instruments sound and the way instrumentalists play them.

"I like to write pieces that are comfortable to play and fun to play," she said. She rearranged the accompaniment of her choral piece, "Know Peace Forever" for the Andover High School chorus.

The piece was written with organ accompaniment, but will be performed with a piano tonight when it is performed.

The high school spring concert is tonight, Thursday, May 23 at 7:30 at the Collins Center at Andover High School.

Bernofsky will be at the Collins Center at 7 for a "meet the composer" session. There will be a reception following the concert. The concert and reception afterwards are free and open to the public.

For more information contact the Andover High School Music Department at 978-623-8616.