(Posted January 26, 2004)

HUNTINGDON, Pa. -- Guy Livingston, a pianist and composer who asked fellow composers from around the world to contribute musical compositions that are 60 seconds long, will perform a large selection of the minute-long material as part of the Juniata College Artist Series at 8:15 p.m., Thursday, Jan. 29, in Rosenberger Auditorium in Oller Hall on the Juniata campus.

For tickets and information about the Juniata College Artist Series, please call (814) 641-3605 or visit the Web site www.juniata.edu/arts. General admission tickets for single performances are $20. Single-show tickets for seniors over age 65 and children age 18 and under are $12. Juniata College students are admitted free with a student ID.

Guy Livingston, who set out in 1995 to commission 60 composers to create works that last a minute or less, now has a repertoire of more than 150 composed miniatures that he reshuffles and orchestrates for every live performance. His concert, titled ?60 Seconds for Piano,? features music in a variety of styles.

Livingston, a pianist who is based in Paris, France, contacted composers from more than 18 countries. His CD, ?Don?t Panic: 60 Seconds for Piano,? is available on Wargo Records.

The composers were free to create works beyond piano instrumentals. During Livingston?s concerts, he is able to add voices, pre-recorded music or electronic instrumentation as needed if the composition calls for musical embellishment. The musical styles used by each composer range from romantic classicism to dissonant electronica.

Some of the compositions feature serious titles, such as ?Speed Study 1,? while other composers opted for lighthearted titles such as ?Two-Chord Warp,? ?Watermelon Revisited? and ?60-Second Ballet for Chickens.?


The pianist performs the compositions in sets of seven or eight, and makes sure to share with the audience a short biography of each composer, as well as anecdotes about how each piece was created.

Livingston graduated from Yale University in 1988 and earned a master?s degree from the New England Conservatory of Music in 1991. He worked with avant-garde minimalist composer John Cage while at the conservatory, recording the composer?s ?Winter Music.? In 1992, Livingston moved to Paris, where he maintains a performance career. He has played at such venues as Centre Pompidou, the Louvre, Lincoln Center in New York City, the Knitting Factory, an avant-garde concert venue in New York, and Columbia University.

He received numerous performance prizes and music festivals in Europe and has performed as a soloist with the Dutch Radio Orchestra and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. In addition, Livingston publishes a digital magazine Paris Transatlantic at www.parisTransatlantic.com.





Contact April Feagley at feaglea@juniata.edu or (814) 641-3131 for more information.