About

Created in December 2010 by Thomas Deneuville, NY-based French composer, I care if you listen was born from the desire to talk about Contemporary Classical Music, or New Music, in lay terms. Other topics cover art, photography, typography, architecture and the general idea of Craftsmanship and its relationship with technology.

The title is a reference to a famous article by American composer Milton Babbitt published in 1958 in High Fidelity. This article is seen as the epitome of academic/serialist snobbery, but to be completely fair, its title was not the one that Babbitt intended (it was changed without his knowledge or consent before publication). The title of this blog is not directed at Mr. Babbitt, but more at the creative forces out there that tend to look down on their audience…

Contributors

Born and raised in Texas, Tai Livingston graduated from Cameron University with a Bachelor’s in Music Education in 2004, where he studied composition under Michelle Coletta, Elaine Ross, and Greg Hoepfner. In 2005 he began graduate studies at the University of Texas, where he studied with Donald Grantham, Yevgeniy Sharlat, and Russel Pinkston. You can follow him on twitter: @texancomposer

Steven Berryman is a composer and teacher working and living in London. He is currently completing his PhD in Composition at Cardiff University (2011). After being awarded a first-class honours degree in Music and the John Morgan Lloyd Scholarship Award from Cardiff University his studies continued at Royal Holloway (London). Steven is very passionate about music education. He has taught since 2004 and is currently the Assistant Director of Music at North London Collegiate School and teaches composition and supporting studies at the Junior Department of the Royal Academy of Music. You can follow him on twitter: @Steven_Berryman

George Heathco is a composer, electric guitarist, collaborator, and teacher that lives in Houston, Tx with his wife and daughter. In 2011, he received an M.M. in composition from the University of Houston, where he studied with Rob Smith and Robert Nelson. Mr. Heathco has composed music for Da Camera of Houston, Divergence Vocal Theater, and Scordatura Music Society. His compositions span a wide variety of genres and styles, and often pull from jazz, heavy metal, and Asian influences. You can follow him on twitter: @GeorgeHeathco

Rob Wendt completed his Master’s degree in Music Education at Hunter College and his Bachelor’s degree in English Literature at Columbia University. He studies piano with Geoffrey Burleson and has performed classical piano repertoire at various NYC venues. Mr. Wendt has enjoyed working as a collaborative pianist with vocalists as well as chamber musicians, and is accompanist for the Hunter College evening choir. He has composed settings of modern poetry and works for orchestra and solo piano. You can follow him on twitter: @RobWendt

Neil Prufer is a composer and pianist living in New York City, where he was born and raised. After graduating from New York University in 2000 with a BA in music theory and history, he got quite sidetracked with a career in medicine, which still takes up much of his time. He has also studied briefly at Berklee in Boston and at Juilliard in New York. He is currently studying composition under Preston Stahly.

David Pearson is a saxophonist residing in NYC. As a performer, his focus is on modern and contemporary classical music, with an insistence that musical innovation and technique be combined with emotional impact and communication with the audience. He is currently completing an MA in music history and performance at Hunter College. Outside of the (often insulated) world of academia and classical music, David can be seen performing with hardcore-punk and afro-beat bands and other sounds that get people moving and thinking.