USU Student Composer has Professional Debut

Ian McDougal, a first-year Aggie, marked his professional debut as a composer when his original choral composition “O Nata Lux” was performed in Pittsburgh by the renowned Pittsburgh Camerata at the choir’s highly regarded Christmas concert series Dec. 6, 12 and 13. The Camerata’s 2008 holiday concert theme was “Illuminare – The Light of Christmas,” a theme that fits nicely with the theme and sound of McDougal’s composition, according to Cory Evans, director of choral activities at Utah State University.

“Ian’s work in O Nata Lux is a very ethereal, atmospheric setting with a soaring soprano line,” Evans said. “It sounds like ‘light.’ That’s the best way to describe it.”

 

McDougal has composed piano, orchestral and choral music since he was a youngster.

 

“My mother says it started when I was 3-years-old,” McDougal said. “That was a self-proclaimed composition, but mostly ‘banging’ at the piano. My first composition was probably at age 7 when I began piano lessons. I began composing more when I was in the 8th grade — mostly stuff for my piano teacher to hear — and I experimented with other things — orchestral, choral and electronic music.”

 

McDougal’s music has been performed in the Salt Lake City area, but the holiday performance by the Pittsburgh Camerata was the first time his talent was showcased by a professional director and choir. In Utah, local audiences will be able to hear O Nata Lux when it receives a regional premiere Feb. 20 in a concert presented by Evans and USU’s Chamber Singers. McDougal is a member of the Chamber Singers.

 

While he plays the piano “passingly,” he said voice is his major instrument.

 

The Pittsburgh Camerata, under the direction of Rebecca A. Rollett, is a professional chamber choir dedicated to performances of sacred and secular music distinguished by imaginative programming in intimate settings. Founded in 1974, the group specializes in the entire choral repertory with a unique focus on Renaissance/Baroque and 20th century works.

 

McDougal published his composition on several Web forums, and that is where conductor Rollett found O Nata Lux. When Rollett contacted McDougal for permission to perform the choral number, she was surprised to learn he was only 18, just beginning his studies at USU in the choral music program.

 

“I began work on O Nata Lux in 2007 when I was a senior in high school,” McDougal said. “I’d listened to a piece by John Williams from a Harry Potter film. It was a choral piece, but it has no words. It portrays qualities of light through the chords. It was an inspiration for me and I began work on my own composition. I began looking for text that talked about light and I wanted a religious theme as well and the phrase ‘O light, born of light’ came to mind. I was sitting in class one day and the melody line for the solo part came to me so I wrote it down quickly. The text comes through the solo part.”

 

When he finished the work, the young composer submitted it to a Wiki site, Choral Public Domain Library (cpdl.org), an online choral Web site for choral works in the public domain.

 

“While most of the works listed there are early works from the Renaissance to the Romantic period, modern composers are also able to submit their pieces,” Evans said. “Since they are in the public domain, anyone is allowed to use, copy, perform or perform the pieces with no charge or royalties.”

 

And while McDougal didn’t see a financial gain from the Pittsburgh performance, his work is gaining attention.

 

“It’s a great way to get his work out there,” Evans said. “Now that his music is being performed, he can approach a publisher about getting it published.”

 

And that’s exactly what McDougal is pursuing. He said he wants to submit the work to Oxford University Press. The performance in Pittsburgh also received attention.

 

A writer who provides reviews for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, noted McDougal’s composition and youth, in his blog posting “Classical Musings.”

 

“Utah prodigy composer part of Pittsburgh Camerata holiday concerts,” read the blog’s headline.

“The Pittsburgh Camerata’s director Rebecca Rollett programs her holiday concerts with a Christmas spirit: with openness to all. Its annual Christmas concert again shines a light on lesser-known Christmas music … offering carols ancient, such as Sweelinck and William Byrd, and contemporary, such as Eric Whitacre, Stephen Paulus and Ian McDougal.

 

“Ian McDougal? Turns out this young composer is a freshman at Utah State University. Now 18, he was 17 when he wrote a requiem for his International Baccalaureate music exam last year. Rollett found it on Choral Public Domain Library and extracted ‘O Nata Lux’ for the holiday program. … All in all, a great Christmastime story.”

 

McDougal is the son of Suzanne and William McDougal and is from South Jordan, Utah. He is a graduate of Hillcrest High School where he was the school’s Sterling Scholar for music in 2008. It was at Hillcrest that he took advance courses that are a part of the International Baccalaureate program, earning college credits, allowing him to academically hold the rank of junior at USU while in his first year of study.

 

When he finishes his education, McDougal said he would love to follow in the footsteps of John Williams and compose music for films. He’d like to be a choral director for a semi-pro or professional group, and he knows there is more education before him. He looks to eventually earning a master’s in choral conducting and a doctorate in composition.

 

(See related announcement in Utah State Today with details on the USU concert SING! where O Nata Lux will be performed in Logan.)

 

To listen to ‘O Nata Lux,’ download www.crumble-onuts.com/music/O_Nata_Lux_2.mp3.

 

 

Writer: Patrick Williams (435) 797-1354, patrick.williams@usu.edu
Contact: Ian McDougal, imcdougal@crumble-onuts.com