Ronald Keith Parks : Composer

Jazz and jazz fusion has been an important part of my musical life since I was a teenager. I played bass in a jazz and jazz fusion quartet called The Nomads before I went to college to study composition. Most of my early compositions were either for my progressive rock band Aria or were jazz …

I have posted Seth Rouser’s video for Momentum to my Video page. It contains Seth’s video with a studio rendering of my music and digital audio. It will give you a good idea of how my music and Seth’s video work together. I hope to create a video some time soon that will also include …

June 2014 was an intense and rewarding month. It began with the week-long New York Electroacoustic Music Festival. This juried international festival draws composers and performers of electroacoustic music from all over the world. My four-channel digital media composition Click was presented in a beautiful multi-channel surround sound venue at the Abrons Arts Center in …

I have posted a few solo works to my audio page. SEAM is a solo piano piece I wrote for a recital about ten years ago. The other works are pieces originally written for the 60×60 project or the 15 min. of fame project then expanded into slightly longer works.

I have posted the score and recording for Afterimage 2 to my scores and audio page. Afterimage 2 has a long and winding history. I started the Afterimage series when I was a Ph.D. student at the University at Buffalo. At that time I was very interested in the relatively new idea of creating pieces …

I have added the score and audio recording for Afterimage 6 for classical guitar, digital audio, and live processing to my site. Afterimage 6 was written for guitarist LH Dickert and was premiered at the Florida Electroacoustic Music Festival. Since the premiere LH has performed Afterimage 6 in Chicago, San Diego, Greensboro, NC, and many …

The premiere of my latest chamber music composition, Momentum [chamber ensemble, dance, and video] went very well tonight. The performance was accurate and spirited. Valerie Ifill’s choreography was wonderful and the dancer, Kristin Ramirez delivered an outstanding performance. Seth Rouser’s video for the piece was a high-energy blend of stills and video of Winthrop University …

Rehearsals started today for Momentum. Things are coming together very well for a first rehearsal. I also saw Val Ifill’s choreography for the first time, a solo female dancer enters from the audience and works her way onto the stage and dances beneath the video screen overhead. Very nicely done. I am fortunate to have …

I am looking forward to hearing Tomoko Deguchi perform my piano piece SEAM in Denver later this month. SEAM was selected for performance at the 2014 Rocky Mountain Regional Conference of the College Music Society. The conference runs from Friday, March 21 to Saturday the 22nd. SEAM will be performed on the Friday night composers …

I have posted the score for Momentum to my Scores page in the chamber music category. Any performance of Momentum must include the digital audio which can be obtained by contacting me.  Although Momentum was conceived and composed to co-exist with Valerie Ifill’s choreography and Seth Rouser’s video, it can also be performed as a …

My latest composition, Momentum, will be premiered on March 27, 2014 at Winthrop University in Rock Hill, SC USA. Momentum is a collaboration. The concept for the piece came from Out of Bounds Ensemble founding member and pianist, Tomoko Deguchi. Tomoko will play piano for the premiere. I composed the music (flute, oboe, clarinet, solo …

I received the high resolution version of the video of 9 Dreams of Flying from Michael Compton. I have reposted it to my Video page. The new version uses a slightly revised ending. The audio for this version is studio rendered. We hope to produce a version using live music in the future. 9 Dreams …

My latest collaboration, Digitritus, is now available on my video page. It is also running continuously at the Rutledge Gallery at Winthrop University in Rock Hill, SC USA through January 17, 2014.

My most recent electroacoustic work is now complete and will be included in an upcoming exhibit at Winthrop University. Digitritus is a short film that was created in collaboration with my colleague Seth Rouser. Seth approached me about working together on a project some time ago and I was delighted to have the opportunity to …

For my friends in the Charlotte region, I hope to see many of you on Sunday, Oct. 27 at the Bechtler Museum of Modern Art for the second installment of the Out of Bounds Ensemble/Bechtler Ensemble  concert. We will present a multi-media concert in the main gallery (4th floor) of the museum at 4:00 p.m., …

For my friends in the Charlotte NC region, please consider joining us for the upcoming Charlotte Composers Forum concerts. Details are below, please contact me if you have questions or need more information. Both concerts will feature the combined forces of the Charlotte-based Out of Bounds Ensemble and the Bechtler Ensemble, conducted by Alan Yamamoto. …

I am excited to announce the inaugural concert of the newly formed Charlotte Composers Forum. Thanks to the vision and leadership of conductor Alan Yamamoto we will be presenting our first concert on October 20, 2013 at Barnes Recital Hall on the campus of Winthrop University in Rock Hill, SC USA, followed by a repeat …

I have added a Discography page to my web site. Most of the CDs featured there are available for purchase. Visit my Discography page for details. This is in addition to the recordings and videos available on my Audio and Video pages. I hope you will consider adding some of my CDs to your personal …

I have posted the score for my 1994 piano trio (violin, cello, and piano) titled Derivations to my Scores page. Derivations was the last composition I completed while living in Gainesville, FL, just before my move to Buffalo, NY in August of 1994. It is also the last composition I completed before beginning my doctoral studies …