Jess Kady

 

Bio

Before studying Music Composition at Pacific Lutheran University under Greg Youtz, and playing French Horn in their Wind Ensemble under Ed Powell, I wrote dozens of pieces for piano and chamber ensembles.  I have written a piece for Symphony Orchestra named "Moving Mountains," and two pieces for Wind Ensemble named "Life Cycles" and "Pixels," all of which have been played by Pacific Lutheran's ensembles.

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Premiers

My most recent piece, "Pixels," was just premiered at the College Band Directors National Association conference at Sonoma State University, performed by Pacific Lutheran University's Wind Ensemble under the direction of Ed Powell. "Pixels" is meant to paint a picture of the information overload coming from the internet and streamed video, and includes a dedicated Drum Set and Electric Bass Guitar.

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In October of 2013, Pacific Lutheran University's Wind Ensemble premiered my first piece for Wind Ensemble, "Life Cycles," which is a journey of thoughts surrounding the idea of Reincarnation.  The piece harmonically is almost 100% adherent to the Octatonic Scale, which lent itself to Eastern sounds, complex harmonies, and complex counterpoint to make it work.  The Octatonic Scale is alternating "half-steps" and "whole steps", which seem to roll over each other and cycle around and around again, and no matter where you are, it fits in with where you've been and where you're going.

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In March of 2012, Pacific Lutheran's Symphony Orchestra premiered my first piece for Orchestra, titled "Moving Mountains." This piece was a sound-painting of the biblical concept of faith that can move mountains. Jesus is quoted, in Matthew 17:20, as saying "Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you." The piece imagines one struggling to understand this concept, the realization of its truth, and then what should sound like an actual mountain rising into the air to close the piece.

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I'm looking forward to my next opportunity, and I'm open to commissions and further performances of my existing works!