Abigail Miller, student conductor

Written in 2021, "Neoncore" is part of the collective work Suite Treats, a multi-movement adaptable piece with each one-minute micro movement written by a different composer (Balmages, Jolley, Meechan, Shapiro and Ticheli). Written for the Rio Americano High School Honors Concert Band following the COVID-19 Pandemic, Jolley zoomed with the directors and students of the ensemble to, “create something bright and sparkly…something that the students would call a ‘bop.’” She collaborated with the students to make a sixteen-note sequence that would be used as a jazzy and funky bass ostinato, which can be heard in various instruments and analog synthesizers throughout the piece. Jolley utilizes synthesizers to honor the school being located in Northern California, the birthplace of the Buchla synthesizer. The goal of the piece is to sound as chaotic as a high school band room before the pandemic, but to also “have a glossy Instagram glow.”

Jennifer Jolley is a composer, conductor, and a professor at Lehman College. Jolley’s compositions are founded on the belief that music can engage in political or controversial subjects, with many of her pieces addressing topics like climate change, #MeToo, feminist history, and the abuses of the Putin regime. Her compositions encompass a wide range, from voice and opera to orchestra and wind ensembles. Jolley’s works have been commissioned and performed by ensembles across the globe, with her music being featured in venues such as Carnegie Hall, the Rivera Court at the Detroit Institute of Arts, and Žofín Palace.

Program note researched and written by Abigail Miller