Steve Danyew (b. 1983) is a composer, educator, and saxophonist based in Rochester, NY. His music has been critically acclaimed throughout the United States, and it has won him several awards. He received his undergraduate degree from the University of Miami Frost School of Music, then continued his studies at the Eastman School of Music. Apart from composing, he teaches at Eastman’s Institute for Music Leadership and serves on the management team of the Paul R. Judy Center for Innovation and Research, also at Eastman. See more about him at his website, Colla Voce music, Naxos, and the Composer Chats podcast.
Danyew wrote Entrata in 2019. His program notes tell a story that, like so much of his music, is both intimate and profound in its details:
Entrata is a gift for conductor and teacher Gary Green from his students. For 22 years, Mr. Green was the conductor of the Wind Ensemble at the University of Miami, inspiring countless student performers who played under his leadership, and conductors who trained under his mentorship.
I was fortunate to play saxophone in the Wind Ensemble under Mr. Green’s direction when I was an undergraduate student studying composition. During this time, I was introduced to an incredible variety of music, and began to develop an interest in writing for the wind ensemble. I learned from numerous guest composers through the wind ensemble – one memorable highlight was playing in the East-Coast premiere of David Maslanka‘s Mass.
In 2018, Mr. Green gave me a print of a photograph he had taken of the entrance to a church in Savannah, Georgia. The striking photograph has many interesting features, and shortly after I received it, I knew I wanted to write a piece inspired by the scene. The church appears somewhat dark and mysterious, with a stone facade and arched stained glass windows. Two items in the photograph immediately caught my imagination: First, there are beams of light streaming down from the sky, above the church. Second, the doors of the church seem to be ever-so-slightly ajar. It’s a beautiful and captivating photograph.
Entrata, Italian for entrance, is a nod to the doors in the photograph that are cracked open – mysterious and intriguing. Much of the music is inspired by “Third Mode Melody,” a haunting tune written by English composer Thomas Tallis in 1561. Around the same time that I began brainstorming ideas for this piece, I sang “Third Mode Melody” in a choir, and found the melody and harmonies lingering with me for weeks. Its mysterious and haunting sounds seemed like apt inspiration for this piece.
The first half of the piece draws inspiration from the open doors in Gary Green’s photograph. In the second half of the piece, I tried to capture the beams of light shining down from above. And then at the end of the work, we return to the open doors, and finally enter through the darkened doorway to find what mysteries lie within.
Here it is in performance with an Alabama Honor Band. (Follow along in the score, which also has that amazing photo):
Danyew draws inspiration directly from Thomas Tallis’s “Third Mode Melody,” borrowing elements of the melody without direct quotation.
Learn more about Entrata by visiting Danyew’s website, J. W. Pepper, and the Wind Repertory Project. And while you’re at it, be like Steve Danyew and do something nice for a friend today!