Machine Project

Stephen “Lucky” Mosko Memorial
Episode Nine of Everybody Loves Difficult Music, a music and discussion series
Saturday May 6th 8:00pm
Machine Project
1200 D North Alvarado Street, Los Angeles, CA 90026
213 483 8761

Free

Lucky Mosko was a man of many enthusiasms: The Compte de Lautremont, The Carter Family, the Iditarod, Harry Smith, frogs, the I Ching, Nico, Iron Chef, Madame Blavatsky, bull riding, Woodie Guthrie, Sirius, the dog star, the meter of Old Norse poetry, Julia Child, Alfred Jarry, Marvin Minsky, Plus/Minus#7, Heinrich Schenker, things Icelandic, things psychedelic, dogons, Morton Feldman, sauces, mushrooms, handwritten notation. From these disparate inspirations comes a music that is very much like the man: fiendishly challenging and intentionally disorienting, yet playful, inventive and strikingly beautiful.

This event will be a gathering to hear a few pieces of Lucky’s music and fondly remember some of the things he got us all fired up about.

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Art Jarvinen will speak about how Lucky thought about composing, what he was interested in doing to the listener and why his music is so peculiar, yet eminently rational.

Sara Roberts will speak about her experiences teaching with Lucky.

Dorothy Stone will speak about Lucky’s relationship to the number 3.

Christine Tavolacci will perform the flute solo from Indigenous Music II.

Orin Hildestad will perform Bow-Vine Song for solo violin.

Stuart Fox and Dorothy Stone will perform Rupuze for flute and guitar.

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Stephen L. Mosko (1947-2005) was born in Denver, where his early musical education was fostered by conductor Antonia Brico. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree Magna cum Laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Yale University in 1969 studying with Donald Martino and Gustav Meier, and his M.F.A. from the California Institute of the Arts in 1972 studying with Mel Powell, Leonard Stein, and Morton Subotnick.

Mosko’s compositions have been performed by many ensembles including the San Francisco Symphony, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Sacramento Symphony, SONOR, California EAR Unit, and at the Ojai, Tanglewood, and June in Buffalo festivals. Some of his awards include an NEA Composers Fellowship, two BMI awards, the Fromm Foundation Award to West Coast Composers. He was the featured composer at the 1989 Sacramento New American Music Festival.

Mosko was for ten years the music director of the San Francisco Contemporary Music Players, and was principal conductor of the Griffin Ensemble of Boston. He also served as music director of the Chicago Contemporary Players. He was guest conductor on numerous occasions with the San Francisco Symphony and with the Los Angeles Philharmonic. He also appeared as conductor at the Holland Festival, Ojai Festival, Foro International de Musica Nueva in Mexico City, Minnesota Opera, among others. He was music director of the 1984 Olympic Arts Contemporary Music Festival, the 1987 Los Angeles Festival (John Cage Celebration), and the 1990 Ojai Music Festival and was the conductor of the Fromm Music Week at the Aspen Music Festival. He recorded for New World, Crystal, Mode One, Robey, CMP, GM, Nonesuch, New Albion, Newport Classics, Chandos, OO Discs, and Cambria.

Mosko was an expert in the field of Icelandic folk music, having received two Senior Fulbright/Hayes Fellowships to Iceland, and was a founding member of the Repercussion Unit. He was Associate Professor of Music at Harvard University for two years, but spent most of his career as a member of the composition faculty at the California Institute of the Arts.

Stephen “Lucky” Mosko died at his home in Green Valley, California, on December 5, 2005, of natural causes.

more information on Lucky Mosko visit http://www.leisureplanetmusic.com/composer/mosko/bio.htm