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By Eric Cook
A dream will come true and a career will get a jumpstart when the Western Michigan University Chorale premieres the work of one local composer on Sunday.
More than four years ago, WMU graduate student Adam Reifsteck began writing what would become his first major concert mass, “Missa Cor Inflammatus,” when he was a music student at Duquesne University, in Pittsburgh.
“I spent four years writing, revising and editing this piece,” Reifsteck said. “It has been a huge part of my life. To hear it performed for the first time will be so surreal.”
Reifsteck said the Sunday performance by the Chorale at St. Catherine of Siena Church in Portage will be more than just the culmination of years of work. “It is going to be amazing to hear my piece performed. But almost more importantly, it is going to be a great launching pad for my career as a composer,” Reifsteck said. “The struggle for a young composer is to get people to listen to your music and get your name out. This will be a great opportunity for both.”
James Bass, Director of Choral Activities at Western, said the opportunity to feature Reifsteck’s music has been a learning experience for his students. “We so often go towards music of the past, great artists like Bach and Beethoven. The problem with the past, however, is you cannot ask the composer what they are thinking,” Bass said. “It is great for the students to have the composer here to help steer the performance and guide them.”
Bass said the concert will be a great chance for the Kalamazoo community to enjoy a young composer: “It is a very palatable and consumable type of music. It’s an interesting and very dynamic piece with a lot of colors.”
Reifsteck is a recent recipient of the Arts Council of Greater Kalamazoo’s Irving S. Gilmore Emerging Artist Grant. He said he will use the money to record “Missa Cor Inflammatus.”
- Kalamazoo Gazette
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Bio
Through music that is dynamic, exciting, and explicit and implicit direct story telling, Adam Reifsteck shares the powerful message of Jesus Christ. His most recent projects include a commission to write the theme song (“Jumpstart Your Faith”) for the 2007 Diocese of Kalamazoo, MI Youth Rally and the premiere of his composition "Missa Cor Inflammatus" for unaccompanied choir by the Western Michigan University Chorale under the direction of Dr. James Bass. Adam also performed at the 1999 and 2001 National Catholic Youth Conferences (NCYC) in St. Louis, MO and Indianapolis, IN with attendance of over 25,000 people. As a workshop presenter, Adam Reifsteck continues to minister and perform at conferences, schools, universities, and parishes across the United States.
In addition to his music ministry, Adam Reifsteck received the Arts Council of Greater Kalamazoo Irving S. Gilmore Emerging Artist Grant to record some of his classical chamber works. Adam also wrote and produced commercial spots, jingles, and audio sales presentations for the Cumulus Broadcasting, Inc. affiliated stations WBCK-AM 930, WBCK-FM 95.3, and WBXX-FM 104.9.
In 2005, Mr. Reifsteck participated in the All-Star Collegiate Choir conducted by Marvin Hamlisch with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. As a member of the Duquesne University Chamber Singers under the direction of Dr. Brady Allred, Adam performed for the 2003 ACDA (American Choral Directors Association) Convention at Avery Fisher Hall in New York City. He also performed in the world premiere of "Paradise Lost: Opera Electronica" by composer Eric Whitacre and librettist David Noroña in 2003.
Adam Reifsteck holds a B.M. in Music Technology from Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, PA and a M.M. in Composition from Western Michigan University. He is a member of Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI), American Composers Forum (ACF), National Pastoral Musicians (NPM), and Society for Electro Acoustic Music (SEAMUS), as well as a member of Omicron Delta Kappa, Golden Key Honour Society, and Phi Eta Sigma.
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