Kate Ragan presents her original composition “streaking strains dry,” 2024.
Sudden, extreme, dynamic, and textural shifts in “streaking strains dry,” 2024 portray Kandinsky’s expressionistic and abstract style in "Improvisation 28 (Second Version)," 1912. Kandinsky’s apocalyptic and themes manifest in active, agitated, rhythmically offset material whereas his salvatory themes manifest through slower, stoic sustain.
About the Performer
Kate Ragan is a DMA candidate in composition at Eastman School of Music. She received an MM in composition at Eastman and a BA in piano performance and political science from the University of Notre Dame, graduating summa cum laude. Her compositions often explore kaleidoscopic colors among instruments and stark, unpredictable contrast in register, texture, dynamics, and articulation. Also an active pianist, Kate strongly advocates for 20th and 21st century works, performing pieces by composers such as Olivier Messiaen, Tōru Takemitsu, Amy Williams, Tania León, and John Liberatore as well as premiering works by composers such as Marlies Hollevoet, Reilly Spitzfaden, and Trinity Hlynn Prater. As a passionate teacher, Kate has taught courses and lessons in composition, orchestration, and engraving for Eastman and University of Rochester undergraduate and graduate students. Through a research collaboration with Eastman Performing Arts Medicine and Eastman Community Music School, Kate is a piano instructor for adult students with Mild Cognitive Impairment and an accompanist for ENCORE, a choir dedicated to community members with an Alzheimer’s diagnosis. Her composition teachers include Daniel Pesca, Carlos Sanchez-Gutierrez, Robert Morris, Ricardo Zohn-Muldoon, and John Liberatore.
Additional Support From
Tucker Johnson – Recording Technician
Kaja Hammerschmidt – Flute
Jacob Eichhorn – Clarinet
Talia Berenbaum – Bass Trombone
Gregory Galand – Double Bass
Hannah Harnest – Piano
