Rodney Waschka II
Director of Arts Studies
Interdisciplinary Studies
Winston Hall 101
Bio
Rodney Waschka II is perhaps best known for his music made with compositional algorithms and his theatrical pieces including three unusual one-act operas. An internationally recognized expert on computer music, Waschka also performs as a narrator/vocalist/actor — often with electronic music. His works are regularly presented across the world and recorded by labels in the USA, England, Portugal, Canada, Poland, and Australia. His poetry has been published in the New York Quarterly, RE:AL, Jones Ave., and elsewhere.
Waschka also directs the Arts NOW Series.
Responsibilities
Director of the Arts Studies Program.
Director of the Arts NOW Series, which presents concerts, lectures, and other performing arts events for the University community and the general public. The Arts NOW Series programs feature contemporary work in the arts: new works, new techniques, new interpretations and contexts, and new connections to older work.
Research Publications
Recent Recordings:
Re-Release — Composer, Euwe Suite and Runes, on the Blank Forms boxed set of all recordings from Jerry Hunt’s IRIDA record label. New York, NY: Blank Forms, 2022. Available here.
Composer, Riding with Phil, flute and string trio, Iwona Glinka, flute; Yaroslav Tokarev violin; lias Sdoukos, viola; and Renato Ripo cello; album: “Teth”. Kwidzyn, Poland: Phasma Records, Phasma 023, June, 2021. Available here.
Performer, A Tuesday with Rodney (duration 20 minutes), for vocalist and real-time interactive computer music, Jeff Morris, composer and electronic computer music performer, on the compact disc, Hearing Voices: Human Sounds, Digital Ears, North Hampton, NH: Ravello Records, RR8033, 2020. Available here.
Composer, Considering Jupiter, amplified piano and electronic computer music, Olga Kleiankina, piano. Lansing, Michigan: Blue Griffin Records, BGR505, July, 2019. Available here.
Composer, Film Noir Trailer, for two speaking flutists, Iwona Glinka, flutes. Kwidzyn, Poland: Phasma Records 004, September, 2018. Available here.
Composer, Au Revoir, Svetozar, for string quartet and zheng, performed by the Hong Kong New Music Ensemble. Hobart, Australia: Ablaze Records, AR 00032, March, 2017. Available here.
Recent and Upcoming Performances and Publications:
Waschka’s compositions in bold italics:
December 13, 2022: German premiere of Inside Scofield, (Waschka, associate producer) documentary film on the life of jazz guitarist John Scofield, at domicil in Dortmund, one of the biggest and oldest German Jazz clubs.
October 29, 2022: Premiere of Inside Scofield, (Waschka, associate producer) at the West University of Timișoara, Romania, as part of the Timisoara Jazz Festival and the Garana Jazz Fest. See trailer here.
October 25, 2022: Performance of Notes for Kent Haruf by Jeri-Mae Astolfi, Raleigh, NC.
October 18, 2022: Documentary film, Boris Karloff: The Man Behind the Monster (Waschka, associate producer) available on Blu-ray and DVD and available for streaming via Amazon Prime. Watch the trailer here.
October 15, 2022: Screening of Boris Karloff: The Man Behind the Monster (Waschka, associate producer) at the Black Bear Film Festival, Milford, PA.
October 14, 2022: Screening of Boris Karloff: The Man Behind the Monster (Waschka, associate producer) at the Union County Performing Arts Center, Rahway, NJ.
October 13, 2022: Screening of Boris Karloff: The Man Behind the Monster at the 55th Sitges Festival Internacional de Cinema Fantàstic de Catalunya, Barcelona.
July 7, 2022: Performance of A Portrait of Bessie Coleman, Harriet Quimby, Raymonde De Laroche, and Mary, Lady Heath at the International Computer Music Conference, Limerick, Ireland.
April 29, 2022: Boris Karloff: The Man Behind the Monster (Waschka, associate producer) wins the Rondo Hatton Award for Best Documentary of 2021.
April 23, 2022: Premiere Performance of Cogito Lodewijk Heyligen, Andrea Cheeseman, clarinetist, at the Electronic Music Midwest festival, Lewis University, Chicago.
Aprl 17, 2022: Preview performance of Bagatelling with Mr. TW, Red Clay Saxophone Quartet at Duke University.
April 12, 2022: Preview performance of Bagatelling with Mr. TW, Red Clay Saxophone Quartet at NCSU.
December 4, 2021: Presentation of Fizipata Provides Solutions!, Craig Hultgren, cellist, on Manhattan Neighborhood Network Television.
November 26, 2021: Performance of Fizipata Provides Solutions! by cellist Craig Hultgren as part of the New York City-based 15 Minutes of Fame program.
November 9, 2021: Performance of Using the Internet by the Western Colorado University Percussion Ensemble, Benjamin Justis, Director, in Gunnison, Colorado.
October 26, 2021: Performances of A Portrait of Bessie Coleman, Harriet Quimby, Raymonde De Laroche and Mary, Lady Heath and A Short Letter from a Small Place along with a special preview performance of Cogito Lodewijk Heyligen featuring Kathryn Brown performing on clarinet as part of the Arts NOW Series.
October 21, 2021: Performance of A Portrait of Bessie Coleman, Harriet Quimby, Raymonde De Laroche and Mary, Lady Heath at Campbell University.
September 17, 2021: Boris Karloff: The Man Behind the Monster documentary film opens in theaters across the United States.
September 2021: Tom Moore interview with Waschka published in Sul Ponticello (in Spanish). Check it out here: https://sulponticello.com/seccion/zoom/conversando-con-rodney-waschka/
R. Waschka II, “Minimal Fitness Functions in Genetic Algorithms for the Composition of Piano Music” Proceedings of the 2015 ICMC, San Francisco: ICMA, 2015, pp. 408-411.
Presentations
June 17, 2019: Keynote speaker at the international Music Meta-Creation Conference.
Projects
Minimal Fitness Functions for Genetic Algorithms in Music
Dynamical Systems as Compositional Algorithms
Education
Doctor of Musical Arts Computer Music/Media University of North Texas
Area(s) of Expertise
Music Composition, Algorithmic Composition, Electronic Music