Seven Sojourns

Seven Sojourns is a collection of miniatures intended for the performer to embark on an adventure through all the church modes. Each miniature not only employs different techniques but also explores an equal number of genres. I wrote this piece to invite early-intermediate guitarist to experience new sonorities and dip their toe into the pool of post-tonality. As you make your way through these pieces, you will hear references to some of my favourite composers, such as, Leo Bouwer, Dusan Bogdanović, Arvo Pärt, Arnold Schönberg.

Liam Kuhn’s music lives in liminal spaces between ancient and modern, through classical and independent, from mystic minimalism to math rock. A graduate of Newfoundland’s Memorial University School of Music where he studied composition with Dr. Andrew Staniland and Dr. Clark Ross, Kuhn explores deeply personal subjects through a multi- faceted lens.

Like his teachers, his musical mother tongue is the classical guitar, and as a performer, he has maintained a strong connection that instrument. As a composer, Liam seeks to maximize his expression with and beyond the guitar through music from different cultures, often titling his work in Icelandic, and seeking out new sounds from both traditional Western and Eastern instrumentation. His synesthesia, specifically chromesthesia or hearing sound as colour, imbues his work with a unique and intuitive flow.

His work has been performed to acclaim by guitarists ChromaDuo, Noel Gutierrez Quintana, Steve Murphy, Casey Pearce and Scott Jolicoeur, cellist Nulibeth Ortiz, pianists Liam Kovich and Will Bidgood, flutist Julia Perry, clarinetist Liza Konstantinova, and violinist Whit FitzGerald.