Maslanka Weekly highlights excellent performances of David Maslanka’s music from around the web. This week, we feature performances of three of David’s works inspired specifically to help us as listeners and performers around the world create peace in our communities: Peace, Angel of Mercy, and Hymn for World Peace.
Maslanka Weekly highlights excellent performances of David Maslanka’s music from around the web. This week, we feature performances of three of David's works inspired by folk songs: Symphony No. 7, "Johnny Get Your Hair Cut" from A Carl Sandburg Reader, and The Seeker.
Maslanka Weekly highlights excellent performances of David Maslanka’s music from around the web. This week, we feature spectacular new performances of Sonata for Alto Saxophone and Piano, Sonata for Horn and Piano, and Sonata for Bassoon and Piano.
Maslanka Weekly highlights excellent performances of David Maslanka’s music from around the web. This week, we continue to look at more of David's music that uses water as a symbol or motif: A Child's Garden of Dreams, Sea Dreams: Concerto for Two Horns and Wind Ensemble, and UFO Dreams: Concerto for Euphonium and Wind Ensemble, Movement II - "The Water is Wide."
Maslanka Weekly highlights excellent performances of David Maslanka’s music from around the web. This week, we feature three of David’s compositions that make reference to a river: Symphony No. 9, Movement I, "Shall We Gather at the River," Symphony No. 2, Movement II, "Deep River," and Symphony No. 10: The River of Time, Movement II, "Mother and Boy Watching The River of Time."
Maslanka Weekly highlights excellent performances of David Maslanka’s music from around the web. This week, we feature three of David’s compositions that have the special quality of "seeking" or "searching" for something: The Seeker, Desert Roads, and Unending Stream of Life.
Maslanka Weekly highlights excellent performances of David Maslanka’s music from around the web. This week, we feature three compositions in which David references a color in the work's title: My Lady White, “Out of the Blue” from This is the World, and Golden Light.
Maslanka Weekly highlights excellent performances of David Maslanka’s music from around the web. This week, we feature three beautiful examples of David's "Songs Without Words," of which there are literally dozens to choose from: "Awakening" from Songs for the Coming Day, Evening Song, and "Lost" from Song Book for Alto Saxophone and Marimba.
Maslanka Weekly highlights excellent performances of David Maslanka’s music from around the web. This week, we feature three of David’s “lesser-known” chamber works: Quintet for Winds No. 4, Heaven to Clear When Day Did Close: Fantasy on a Theme of Barney Childs, and Arise!
Maslanka Weekly highlights excellent performances of David Maslanka’s music from around the web. This week, we examine three of David’s works that make reference to light: First Light, Illumination, and Golden Light.
Maslanka Weekly highlights excellent performances of David Maslanka’s music from around the web. This week, we showcase creative arrangements of Give Us This Day.
Maslanka Weekly highlights excellent performances of David Maslanka’s music from around the web. This week, we examine three of David’s works that make reference to the earth: O Earth, O Stars, Symphony No. 6: Living Earth, and Mother Earth.
Maslanka Weekly highlights excellent performances of David Maslanka’s music from around the web. This week, we feature three compositions that specifically mention "dreaming" or "meditation" in their title: A Child's Garden of Dreams, Movement I, Sea Dreams: Concerto for Two Horns and Wind Ensemble, Movement III, and Recitation Book, Movement I, "Broken Heart: Meditation on the chorale melody Der du bist drei in einigkeit."
Maslanka Weekly highlights excellent performances of David Maslanka’s music from around the web. This week, we feature three new recordings of favorite works: Tone Studies, Concerto for Saxophone Quartet and Wind Ensemble, and First Light.
Maslanka Weekly highlights excellent performances of David Maslanka’s music from around the web. This week, we feature three new performances of favorite works: Symphony No. 8, Symphony No. 5, and Hell's Gate.
Maslanka Weekly highlights excellent performances of David Maslanka’s music from around the web. This week, we feature several performances of Symphony No. 10 that came as the result of Matthew Maslanka being in residency with various ensembles and their conductors.
Exciting week at WIU – Matthew is working with the Wind Ensemble to prepare Symphony No. 10. Check it out if you’re in the area! http://www.wiu.edu/news/newsrelease.php?release_id=16185
Maslanka Weekly highlights excellent performances of David Maslanka’s music from around the web. This week, we take a look at three of the many pupils David worked with over the years as well as one of their compositions: Symphony No. 3, "For David" by Kimberly K. Archer, This is Our Joyful Hour by Kevin Krumenauer, and Heroes from the Sea by Onsby C. Rose.
Maslanka Weekly highlights excellent performances of David Maslanka’s music from around the web. This week, we feature a spectacular livestream rehearsal featuring Jerry Junkin working with the Vandegrift High School Wind Ensemble in David's epic Symphony No. 4.
Maslanka Weekly highlights excellent performances of David Maslanka’s music from around the web. This week, we feature the Eastman Wind Ensemble in rousing performances of Symphony No. 8, Mvt. I, Tears, and Symphony No. 2.
Maslanka Weekly highlights excellent performances of David Maslanka’s music from around the web. This week, we feature captivating performances of Hymn for World Peace, Out of this World, and This is the World.
Maslanka Weekly highlights excellent performances of David Maslanka’s music from around the web. This week, we honor the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. as we remember him through David's composition, Letter to Martin.
Maslanka Weekly highlights excellent performances of David Maslanka’s music from around the web. This week, we take a special look at David's philosophies on music, the creative process, and creating peace through musical tones.
Maslanka Weekly highlights excellent performances of David Maslanka’s music from around the web. We start the beginning of 2019 by taking time to remember the life and music of David Maslanka.
Maslanka Weekly highlights excellent performances of David Maslanka’s music from around the web. This week, we feature five of the most extraordinary performances of Illumination from 2018.
Maslanka Weekly highlights excellent performances of David Maslanka’s music from around the web. This week, we feature five of the most extraordinary performances of Recitation Book, Mvt. V, Fanfare/Variations on Durch Adams Fall from 2018.
Maslanka Weekly highlights excellent performances of David Maslanka’s music from around the web. This week, we feature five of the most extraordinary performances of Traveler from 2018.
Maslanka Weekly highlights excellent performances of David Maslanka’s music from around the web. This week, we feature five of the most extraordinary performances of Symphony No. 4 from 2018.
Maslanka Weekly highlights excellent performances of David Maslanka’s music from around the web. This week, we feature five of the most extraordinary performances of Give Us This Day from 2018.
Maslanka Weekly highlights excellent performances of David Maslanka’s music from around the web. This week, we feature amazing performances of Angel of Mercy, In Memoriam, and Traveler.
Maslanka Weekly highlights excellent performances of David Maslanka’s music from around the web. This week, we feature spectacular performances of Mass, Liberation, and Prelude on a Gregorian Tune.
Maslanka Weekly highlights excellent performances of David Maslanka’s music from around the web. This week, we feature fantastic performances of On This Bright Morning, Golden Light, Morning Star, and Illumination.
Maslanka Weekly highlights excellent performances of David Maslanka’s music from around the web. This week, we feature phenomenal performances of Symphony No. 9, Hohner, and Tone Studies.
Maslanka Weekly highlights excellent performances of David Maslanka’s music from around the web. This week, we feature thrilling performances of Symphony No. 5 and Recitation Book, Mvt. 5, "Fanfare/Variations on Durch Adams Fall."
Maslanka Weekly highlights excellent performances of David Maslanka’s music from around the web. This week, emotional performances of Remember Me: Music for Cello and Nineteen Players, Requiem, A Solemn Music, and Beloved.
Maslanka Weekly highlights excellent performances of David Maslanka’s music from around the web. This week, amazing performances of Sonata for Bassoon and Piano, Movement II, Orpheus, and Little Concerto for Six Players.
Maslanka Weekly highlights excellent performances of David Maslanka’s music from around the web. This week, exceptional performances of Peace, Tone Studies, Movement V, "Wie Bist Du, Seele?" and David's transcription of Goldberg Variations for Saxophone Quartet.
Maslanka Weekly highlights excellent performances of David Maslanka’s music from around the web. This week, captivating performances of Alex and the Phantom Band, Rollo Takes a Walk, and Music for Dr. Who.
Maslanka Weekly highlights excellent performances of David Maslanka’s music from around the web. This week, sensational performances of California, Montana Music: Fantasy on a Chorale Tune, and Montana Music: Three Dances for Percussion.
Maslanka Weekly highlights excellent performances of David Maslanka’s music from around the web. This week, phenomenal performances of O Earth, O Stars, This is the World, Mvt. IV, and Concerto for Alto Saxophone and Wind Ensemble, Mvt. II.
Maslanka Weekly highlights excellent performances of David Maslanka’s music from around the web. This week, fantastic performances of Concerto for Clarinet and Wind Ensemble, Little Symphony on the name BArnEy CHilDS, and Desert Roads: Four Songs for Clarinet and Wind Ensemble.
Maslanka Weekly highlights excellent performances of David Maslanka’s music from around the web. This week, phenomenal performances of Quintet for Winds No. 3, Movement I, Quintet for Winds No. 1, Movement 1, and the entirety of Quintet for Winds No. 2.
Maslanka Weekly highlights excellent performances of David Maslanka’s music from around the web. This week, amazing performances of Concerto for Saxophone Quartet and Wind Ensemble, Hell's Gate, and Symphony No. 2, Movement II.
Maslanka Weekly highlights excellent performances of David Maslanka’s music from around the web. This week, marvelous performances of Illumination, Heart Songs, and Mother Earth.
Maslanka Weekly highlights excellent performances of David Maslanka’s music from around the web. This week, spectacular performances of Sonata for Alto Saxophone and Piano, Sonata for Oboe and Piano, and Sonata for Bassoon and Piano.
Maslanka Weekly highlights excellent performances of David Maslanka’s music from around the web. This week, we remember the life of David Maslanka and Alison Matthews with unforgettable performances of Symphony No. 4, "Song for Alison" from Song Book for Alto Saxophone and Marimba, and Symphony No. 10: The River of Time.
Maslanka Weekly highlights excellent performances of David Maslanka’s music from around the web. This week, sensational performances of Hohner, Crown of Thorns, and Hurtling Through Space at an Unimaginable Speed.
Maslanka Weekly highlights excellent performances of David Maslanka’s music from around the web. This week, we feature the Masato Kumoi Saxophone Quartet with amazing performances of Songs for the Coming Day, Mountain Roads, and Recitation Book.
Maslanka Weekly highlights excellent performances of David Maslanka’s music from around the web. This week, a marvelous Concerto for Marimba and Band, Variations on Lost Love, and Song Book for Alto Saxophone and Marimba.
Maslanka Weekly highlights excellent performances of David Maslanka’s music from around the web. This week, the Münchner Rundfunkorchester gives a stunning performance of 11:11 - A Dance at the Edge of the World and World Music.
Maslanka Weekly highlights excellent performances of David Maslanka’s music from around the web. This week, a spectacular Concerto No. 3 for Piano and Wind Ensemble, Beloved, and "Groucho's Dance" from Concerto No. 2 for Piano and Wind Ensemble.
Maslanka Weekly highlights excellent performances of David Maslanka’s music from around the web. This week, a fantastic Symphony No 8, Hymn for World Peace, and Requiem.
David discusses his composing process and the inspiration for Symphony No. 10. This is excerpt from David's forthcoming memoir, written only months before his death.
What's next for the music of David Maslanka?
I am a constant and wide-ranging reader. My undergrad and graduate work was almost all music, with just minimum requirements in other areas. Since that time I have done extensive reading in many topics, including history, psychology, anthropology, religion, mythology and poetry. I read very little about music! History can give the facts and big ideas about an age, but poetry opens the soul, allowing an immediate and intimate engagement with people of other times.
My reading, like my composing, is not preplanned. I go where my interest pulls me. Over time it has focused on the issue of war, and with that, the foundational issue of human violence: What is it in each individual, what in society? What is the nature of war? How is violence transformed in the individual and in the world? Violence cannot be avoided or eliminated, no matter how much we may pray for peace. On the other hand, it is possible actively to work with the energy of violence. I have come to understand that violence can be transformed in composing and performing music. Players and audiences come to a unified sense of well-being. The deepest insight I can offer is this: you cannot hate while making music.
Two stories on this theme:
No. 1
I traveled to Beijing, China in July of 2016 at the invitation of Li Fangfang, founder and music director of the Beijing Wind Symphony, and the Asia-Pacific Band Directors Association which was holding its 19th annual conference. Bands are […]
David Maslanka shakes the hand of Li Fangfang after a powerful performance of Symphony No. 4 by the Beijing Wind Orchestra at the National Centre for the Performing Arts. Li invited David to participate in the 2016 Asia Pacific Band Directors Association Conference.
David Maslanka was honored with an honorary doctorate by St. Olaf College. Here’s the entire ceremony:
The following is the full text of Dr. Timothy Mahr’s and David Maslanka’s remarks.
[starts at 11:50]
On the nomination of the faculty, and with the approval of the St. Olaf Board of Regents, it is my pleasure to present Dr. David Maslanka as a candidate for the degree of Doctor of Fine Arts, honoris causa.
Our world needs artists. We live in extremely contentious times full of conundrums that seemingly defy solution. The fine arts have long been a vital means of discovering the essence of being human and penetrating the obfuscations that bar deeper understanding. We struggle to know the outer and the inner worlds. The best artists provide revelations to us all, if only we allow them this opportunity by fully engaging their work. Our honored guest, Dr. David Maslanka, is indeed one of these artists. With his music, he explores a full range of emotional expression, as we heard in the excerpt we just performed. His music invites listeners to look deeply within while also lifting our hearts to the concerns of others: sublime and simple serenity is balanced by rushing riots of rage or exuberant exultations. He encapsulates the human condition within artistic statements that challenge but ultimately uplift.
Esteemed colleagues across the spectrum of music-making affirm Dr. Maslanka’s standing in today’s musical world. A prolific composer, his compositional voice resonates strongly with audiences. Dr. Maslanka is one […]
On Feb. 4 2016, I traveled from New York City to meet Tim Mahr and the St. Olaf Band at Pascack Hills High School in Montvale, New Jersey. We were hosted by director of bands Chris Wilhjelm.
Rehearsing Angel of Mercy with the St. Olaf Band and Dr. Tim Mahr in Montvale, NJ
The St. Olaf Band had been on tour and had done at least six performances of the piece before I heard the music for the first time at Chris Wilhjelm’s school. We had only an hour to rehearse. 
Rehearsing Angel of Mercy with the St. Olaf Band and Dr. Tim Mahr in Montvale, NJ
This was only a beginning time of my hearing into the music, and helping the band fully to embrace it. They were playing well but they were still searching for the voice of the piece. 
The St. Olaf Band bassoons: (Left to Right) Joshua Kosberg, Colin Scheibner, Eliza Madden. The bassoons open Angel of Mercy with a gorgeous soli chorale.
The music wasn’t complete in my […]
Maslanka Press exhibited at the Midwest Clinic in Chicago this past December for the first time. We were excited to welcome so many enthusiastic friends to the back corner of the McCormick Center. We expect this to be the first of many appearances at festivals and conventions across the United States and around the world.
David talks with guests at the new booth in Chicago.
Sam Ormson has shared his extraordinary journey with David’s music. Read it here.
We’ve also posted a new interview with David where he gives some background on his life and work.
David recently found the fully-orchestrated score to Death and the Maiden with a the original libretto. We are exploring putting together a new production of the work. It’s early days yet, but there are some very promising signs. We’ve updated the work’s page with the score, libretto and more information about the piece.
David has written a new program note for Symphony No. 2, reflecting on the last thirty years.
The following is from an email exchange with Natasha Rotondaro, a grade 12 student from Emily Carr Secondary School in Vaughn, Ontario
Natasha Rotondaro: What is your musical background?
David Maslanka: I began clarinet studies at age nine. As a high school student I took lessons at the New England Conservatory in Boston, MA, and played in the Greater Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra. I have a Bachelor of Music Education degree from the Oberlin College Conservatory of Music where I also began my studies in composition. My Masters and Doctorate are from Michigan State University in music theory and composition. I taught for twenty years in universities in New York State and New York City, and for the past 25-plus years I have been a freelance composer, living in Missoula, MT.
NR: What do you find to be the greatest challenge of your occupation?
DM: There are many high challenges in the composing life. Probably the greatest is having to start the composition of each new piece without any clear idea of what it is. I know , of course, that a piece might be for band, or for flute and piano, but there is no way to know why a piece has to be what it is until it begins to speak its own voice. So the challenge is the ability to listen for this unknown voice, and the patience to work until that voice is exactly right.
NR: What are the common character traits of those successful in your field?
DM: I would say […]