Western Michigan University's School of Music hosts its 56th Annual Spring Conference on Wind and Percussion Music this week, culminating in a public finale concert Thursday, Apr 23 at 7:30 p.m. in Miller Auditorium. Director of Bands Dr. Scott Boerma previewed the event on with Cara Lieurance, joined remotely by featured guest composer Nicole Piunno.
Piunno, who teaches adjunct at Capital University near Columbus, Ohio, traces her path to composition through an unexpected detour. "I was actually supposed to be on track to being an orchestral trumpet player," she says. "And I injured my lip, which ended that career — and that's ultimately why I do composition now."
Her music draws more from the visual arts than from other composers. Visiting the Columbus Museum of Art, Piunno encountered a large-scale photograph by artist Ori Gersht — a high-speed image of flowers being exploded — and was transfixed. "I sat there for hours," she recalls. "And I came back day after day and eventually heard music in my head that I had to get out." The result was Beauty Broken, one of her earliest and most-performed works, which the WMU Wind Symphony performs on the program.
The Nicole Piunno All-Star Band — an honor ensemble of roughly 110 high school students drawn from across Michigan — will perform Resound, a joyful, percussion-rich piece commissioned by a Michigan community band. Piunno says events like this carry personal meaning: "I made my decision to go into music as a high school student at an honor band," she explains. "And because of that moment in my life, I feel a joyful responsibility to be a part of things like this."
The program also features a new clarinet concerto by Amanda Harberg, performed by WMU clarinet professor Ellen Breakfield-Glick, and John Williams' Adventures on Earth from E.T. Tickets and details are available at wmich.edu/music/events.
The interview was summarized by Claude AI and edited by the author.
