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Original Music: Quarantine

 

by Jorj Lemay

Artist Statement

“Quarantine“ is a song about my life during winter break of 2020. I felt scared, encaged in my room all break. The fear of someone watching me haunted me. Being alone was the worst. I felt like I was trapped and that this was life forever as if nothing was going to change. I didn’t talk to anyone really, I just recorded music until it was over. This is one of the songs that was created.

 

Jorj Lemay. Jorj (Jorj= George) was born in Philadelphia and has eight siblings (he’s number 7). He started making music because of his brother, and branched out with his own music in July 2020 due to COVID. He loves making beats and music and sees it as a journal, somewhere to express where he’s going with his life. He says, “As passionate as I am, sometimes I wonder what I would do if I didn’t create music, then I remind myself to apply the pressure and just go for it.”

Original Music: C.D. Interview

 

by Jorj Lemay

Artist Statement

“C.D. (Character Development) Interview“ is my favorite song. I started recording in December of 2020 after I woke up from a nap. The song tells a story of what was going on in my life at the time. After breaking up with my girlfriend, talking with best friends, and living with my family, I didn’t know what to do. I had issues sleeping and was going through the motions. I wasn’t happy with my position in life. I vented to my friend Noah one night, and he helped me figure out what to talk about. I sent over the rough draft, and he sent me back a response, and that became the outro. C.D. stands for character development and Interview came from Noah.

 

Jorj Lemay. Jorj (Jorj= George) was born in Philadelphia and has eight siblings (he’s number 7). He started making music because of his brother, and branched out with his own music in July 2020 due to COVID. He loves making beats and music and sees it as a journal, somewhere to express where he’s going with his life. He says, “As passionate as I am, sometimes I wonder what I would do if I didn’t create music, then I remind myself to apply the pressure and just go for it.” March, Quarantine (2021)

Original Music: Goodbye

 

by Drew Flanagan

Artist Statement

“Goodbye” is a folk song I originally wrote about ten years ago, but it’s always been my favorite of my originals. If I had to sum up its themes, I’d say it deals with loss and the mix of nostalgia and resentment that loss can leave us with. Soundwise, I was listening to a lot of Nick Drake at the time and I think that comes through a bit. This recording is on the old side but I like the quality and the audience engagement—it was recorded live at the Lizard Lounge in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 2015.

 

Drew Flanagan is a visiting assistant professor of history at Pitt-Bradford. When he’s not researching the history of the Franco-German borderlands along the Rhine River, he plays folk music and watches truly terrible movies in order to make fun of them with like-minded people. He has played the violin for over 20 years and guitar for about 15 years.

Original Music: Tropical Sabbath

 

by Ian Evans Guthrie

Artist Statement

“Tropical Sabbath,” the last part of my piano suite Soundscape Retreats, is not about a particular geographical area in the Tropics nor about a particular Sabbath; I simply liked the title. In fact, the fusion of pan-American and European influences in the work may cause you to do anything but relax!

 

Dr. Ian Evans Guthrie, an emerging composer, performer, researcher, and collaborator who teaches music classes at Pitt-Bradford, has received the Mile High Freedom Band 2021 Commission, first place in the Noosa-ISAM and Arcady Composition competitions, second for the American Prize, a nomination for a 2020 award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and other accolades for his compositions. Many of his works have been performed publicly around the world by fEARnoMUSIC, the Northwest Symphony Orchestra, Moore Philharmonic Orchestra, VIPA, highSCORE Music Festival, Atlantic Music Festival, Charlotte New Music Festival, and others. His most recent works include Flight for Freedom for band; a fixed media track for dancer Ilana Goldman; tracks for various exhibitions at Venvi Art Gallery (Tallahassee, FL); and the score for the story ballet The Queen of Nori. As a pianist, Guthrie has won awards from MTNA, the Great Composer Competition, and other organizations. He also actively researches the relationship between harmony and rhythmic cells, and his paper Rhythm as Function has been featured at several past and upcoming conferences across the continent.

Original Music: March

 

by Jorj Lemay

Artist Statement

“March“ is a song about my time at Pitt-Bradford from January to March 2021. I recorded this a while back when I had an argument with my roommates and disagreements with others. I didn’t know how to handle it so I called my family, who I spoke to a lot more than usual during this time. I learned the importance of balance and that it is okay to not be okay.

 

Jorj Lemay. Jorj (Jorj= George) was born in Philadelphia and has eight siblings (he’s number 7). He started making music because of his brother, and branched out with his own music in July 2020 due to COVID. He loves making beats and music and sees it as a journal, somewhere to express where he’s going with his life. He says, “As passionate as I am, sometimes I wonder what I would do if I didn’t create music, then I remind myself to apply the pressure and just go for it.”