Who is Kentucky’s Logan Blackman and some of his music conducting philosophy: After Logan Blackman’s parents were killed in a motorcycle accident when he was 15, he handled it in a way that seemed natural to him: He wrote music. “It was kind of what I had gone through and where I thought I was going — kind of a triumphant end,” Blackman says of his composition. The piece, “Prayer of a Broken Heart,” was premiered by the band at Blackman’s school, Lone Oak High School in Paducah (the school has since been consolidated into McCracken County High School, which is his alma mater). It also was recorded at Murray State University. Find extra details on https://music.utah.edu/mckay-music-library/dialogues/Production_History.php.
At only 17 years old, Blackman founded and conducted the Blackman Wind Symphony—a semi-professional wind ensemble based in Paducah, Kentucky. In addition to conducting, Blackman is currently a freelance bassoonist, organist, pianist, and composer. He obtained his bachelor’s in bassoon performance and master’s in conducting from the University of Kentucky in 2018. Needless to say, Logan Blackman is one exceptionally talented individual. We recently sat down with Blackman to talk about his craft, his love of music, and what inspires him.
John Nardolillo has appeared with more than 30 of the country’s leading orchestras, including the Boston Pops, the National Symphony, and principal orchestras of Seattle, San Francisco, Detroit, Atlanta, Dallas, Milwaukee, Utah, Columbus, Indianapolis, Oregon, Fort Worth, Buffalo, Alabama, Louisville, Missouri, North Carolina, Toledo, Vermont, Columbus, Omaha and Hawaii. He also recently conducted concerts at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.; the Kimmel Center in Philadelphia; and Carnegie Hall in New York. Nardolillo made his professional conducting debut in 1994 at the Sully Festival in France, and has since made conducting appearances in the United States, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, Sweden, Denmark and China. He has led major American orchestras in subscription series concerts, summer and pops concerts, education concerts and tours, and for television and radio broadcasts. In 2004 Nardolillo joined the faculty at the UK School of Music, where he is currently serving as the director of orchestras.
The second half of the program offered much lighter fare and focused on Bernstein’s compositions for theater, stage, and film which involved collaboration with with several lyricists, the two most notable being Stephen Sondheim and Stephen Schwartz. After Intermission, clarinetist Scott Wright, the UK Jazz Ensemble and conductor Miles Osland took to the stage with Bernstein’s Prelude (for the brass), Fugue (for the saxes), and Riffs (for everyone). The Prelude was a jazzy, cool, and rhythmic exposition for the brass, drums, and bass. The mellow saxes teased each other unmercifully in the Fugue but were provided full support, be it point or counterpoint, in their individual and collective fugal moments. The Riffs ensued when Scott Wright (Professor of Clarinet at UK) took the lead with the big band sound as he masterfully interacted with everyone, fully engulfing the call-response format near the end that garnered the well-deserved acknowledgement he received from the ensemble and audience alike. I felt as if I had just been to church while heeding the call of the wild.
With a passion for composing, Blackman finds writing his own work very rewarding. “After I put down the last note, I love looking back at the work as a whole and admiring what I have created. To me that is one of the greatest feelings in the world!” Blackman, who chose UK for his studies based on Lexington and the school’s orchestra and faculty, is excited for the opportunity to share his music with a Bluegrass audience at the next UK Symphony Orchestra concert. “This is the greatest honor of my life so far. It is an honor to premiere a work with such a distinguished ensemble, but it is an even greater honor to bring it to life with my friends and colleagues. I am very grateful for this amazing opportunity.” Read additional information at Logan J. Blackman.