Son of Till was written as a showcase piece for the virtuoso hornist. The title implies a humorous link to the celebrated figure in German myth, Till — a rambunctious, likable prankster (also, references to other famous “offspring” in popular culture, namely Son of Frankenstein and Son of Godzilla). The first movement is primarily concerned with a quick ascending gesture that travels through the better part of the horn’s range. Arioso Dreams conjures up images of nightmares, illusions and a demented form of Chinese water torture in which a single, short note (E-flat) appears regularly, sending the performer into even greater fits of demented athletic activity. The last movement “celebrates” our obsession with power tools, process music (minimalism) and mindless virtuosity for its own sake. Special effects abound throughout the work, including flutter tonguing, stopped horn and half-valve glissandi. Son of Till is dedicated to William Capps, one of Basler’s primary horn mentors and another possible “offspring” connection (the dreaded Son of Bill!).
Paul Basler (b. 1963, Milwaukee), 1993–94 Fulbright Senior Lecturer in Music at Kenyatta University (Nairobi, Kenya), 1995–96 University of Florida Teacher of the Year and the 2001–03 College of Fine Arts University of Florida Research Foundation Professor is currently an Associate Professor of Music at the University of Florida. He taught at Western Carolina University for four years and, prior to coming to WCU, was the North Carolina Visiting Artist in Residence at Caldwell Community College. He received his BM degree magna cum laude from the Florida State University, MM, MA, and DMA degrees from the State University of New York at Stony Brook, and has received teaching awards and citations from the University of Florida College of Fine Arts, SUNY-Stony Brook, Western Carolina University, Kenyatta University and the Kenya Office of the President/Permanent Music Commission.
Basler is resident hornist for the annual Composers Conference in Boston and has performed as guest artist at numerous International Horn Society Workshops and the St. Petersburg International Chamber Music Festival in Russia. Basler has been a member of the Charleston, Greenville, Asheville, Tallahassee and Gainesville Symphonies, and continues to maintain a busy performing schedule throughout the United States and abroad, having premiered over 120 works written for him in the past seven years. He also has received two American Cultural Affairs Specialist Grants from the U.S. Department of State and is currently a Visiting Artist in Residence with the Dominican Republic’s Ministry of Culture and the National Conservatory of Music. Basler’s horn teachers have included William Purvis, William Capps and Barry Benjamin and his composition teachers have been John Boda, John Downey, Bülent Arel, John Lessard and Billy Jim Layton.