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about.

Levi Raleigh Brown (b. 1996) is a composer, percussionist, and jazz pianist currently based in Albuquerque, NM, and completing his Master’s in Music Composition at the University of New Mexico. Originally from Montana, he received his Bachelor of Music from The University of Montana.

Often crossing genres and disciplines, his work aims to draw attention to the universality of the daily human experience. He is particularly interested in the unpredictability of everyday life, contrasted against human desire for control through constructed means, such as art. Musically, he explores these ideas with a sense of spontaneity, drawing from a variety of musical styles and experimenting with concepts of texture and form, with special attention to the elements of live performance. He has worked with a variety of ensembles, professionals and classmates alike, and has also shared the stage with visual artists and poets in collaborative performance. He currently performs with New Music New Mexico, Bopsque, and recently co-founded the Eudae Duo with saxophonist, Charlotte Leung.

Levi was the winner of the 2017 R. Richard Riddle Memorial Scholarship Competition and the 2019-20 Scott Wilkinson Composition Contest.

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04:00

On the Geometry of Farmland

Performance by the Arditti Quartet. I have always appreciated the “geometry of farmland”: those endless designs we view from planes which tend to repeat patterns but avoid symmetry. The colors and shapes of the plots of land are unique to different countries and regions, a natural result of the surrounding landscape and the crops that are grown there. These massive agricultural artworks are created without any intent or consideration of the visual possibilities. It is through working to satisfy basic human needs, in conjunction with a massive ecological system, that they are created. It is a simple, overhead view of the beauty that can occur from individual pieces fitting together.

06:14

The Actuator

Performance by the University of Montana Percussion Ensemble, conducted by Samuel McKenzie. An actuator is defined as a component of a machine that is responsible for moving or controlling a mechanism or system. We often consider the interaction and communication between players in an ensemble, but rarely do we think about the mechanical nature in which musicians and conductor combine to accomplish a single task, of creating music. This piece is intended to highlight the creative machine that is so often assembled in concert halls, and leaves us to ponder the relationship between performers, conductor, composer, the audience, and the music itself. Along with this, we can consider which role in a performance, if any, is serving as the musical actuator.

07:24

Invisible Hands

For four strings and percussion, Invisible hands was written with the idea in mind that everything has a purpose. Everything that happens, even if we don't understand it, is for a specific reason, determined by something invisible to us. Throughout the piece, dice are rolled determining the actions of the players, making every performance entirely unique. The dice rolls represent events in life with all the struggles, uncertainties, and questions of purpose. While the piece utilizes chance, one should consider the possibility that each die roll is determined with intention in a way we can't comprehend, potentially helping to create music with meaning. Similarly, events in life that appear to be pure chance may have reasons we can't see. At the end of the piece, we are called back to a place of comfort and understanding, a place that could only be achieved through the previous process of uncertainty. Through the piece, this process includes a departure from, and return to that which is ultimately in control of everything. Maggie Gammons, Will Hunt, and Alexandra Evans, Violin; Dillon Johns, Bass; Levi Raleigh Brown, Percussion/Dice

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works

works.

chamber.

chance and improvisatory.

solo.

electronic.

jazz.

chamber.

all that is little (2019)

Mezzo-soprano and Chamber Ensemble

Setting of a text by Kenneth Patchen

These Mountain Peaks (I Drink) (2019)

Flute and Percussion

Written for and premiered by Wave Dash

God is an Alchemist (2019)

Bass Trombone and Organ

Commissioned by Juan Saldivar

On The Geometry of Farmland (2019)

String Quartet

Written for and premiered by the Arditti Quartet

Moments in Orbit (2018)

Alto Saxophone, Percussion, and Optional Piano

Commissioned by Charlotte Leung

Orbital Resonance No. 1: Pluto and Neptune (2018)

Multi-percussion Duet

Commissioned by Brian Tremper and Dr. Robert LedBetter

Birds of the Flock (2018)

Clarinet Choir

Commissioned by the University of Montana Clarinet Choir

Mischievous Sheep (2017)

Alto Voice and Prepared Glockenspiel

The Actuator (2017)

Percussion Ensemble (6 players) and Conductor

Commissioned by the University of Montana Percussion Ensemble

Includes (optional) mechanical choreography for the conductor

Runaway Tentacles (2017)

Theremin and Timpani Due

Five Surfaces of a Pond (2016)

Oboe, Bassoon, Viola, Cello, Vibraphone

Disproportionate Elephants and Unstable Steps (2016)

String Quartet

chance and improvisatory.

Meditation on Boiling Water (2019)

One to Three Players and Boiling Water

Contemplation on the boiling of water for tea

Music for Those Apart (2018)

Two or more Players

Performers must be in different locations and maintain a personal connection

Change Music (2018)

One to Four Players

Players use coins to determine pitch and note length

Invisible Hands (2018)

Four Strings and Percussion

Players respond to dice throughout the performance

The People on The Bus (2017)

Two Performers and Optional Fixed Media

Site-specific work to be performed on a bus

Box of News (2017)

Solo Performer

Instructions for generating a spoken piece from any news source

This is the World when I am Still (2017)

Five or More Players (Found Percussion)

Contemplation on a Fortune With "____" (2017)

Solo Performer

Instructions for converting any "fortune" or similar found text into a piece

One Minute (2016)

Solo Piano or Keyboard

A one-minute performance based on the current time

solo.

A Fire to Build (2020)

Solo percussion and fixed media

Commissioned by Rosie Cerquone

A Moment of Some Complexity (2019)

Ten piece cycle for speaking pianist and projector

From a selection of ten picture poems by Kenneth Patchen

The Moment (2018)

Solo Vibraphone

Here 'Mid the Ash Trees (2017)

Solo Horn

Commissioned by Dr. Zachary Cooper

An interpretation of the poem La Fraisne by Ezra Pound

Clandestine (2016)

Solo Marimba

Hoedown for Solo Percussion (2016)

Solo Multipercussion

Nothing to Fear (2015)

Solo Soprano Sax with Piano Accompaniment

Commissioned by Charlotte Leung

electronic.

There Is No Map (2018)

Three Performers and Fixed Media

In Search of Wisdom (2017)

Four Performers and Fixed Media (4-channel)

Sewer Alligator (2017)

Fixed Media

jazz.

Swept (2020)

Original piece for Big Band

Requires speaking by all performers

Times of Change (2019)

Original piece for Jazz Combo

Brilliant Corners (2018)

Big Band Arrangement

Commissioned by the University of Montana Jazz Ensemble

Composed by Thelonious Monk

Underground (2017)

Jazz Combo Arrangement

Composed Tom Waits

works.

chamber.

chance.

solo.

electronic.

jazz.

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contact.

For more info, questions, and upcoming performances, or if you'd like to perform or commission a work, please email, call, or text me at:

email: levibrown13@gmail.com

mobile: 1-406-240-6939

leviraleighbrown.com.wixsite.com/music