For many students, the focus of their first semester in college is on navigating a new chapter of their lives But just a few months after matriculating at Rice, freshman composition student Jaylin Vinson had already created "Shimmer!," a dynamic cello quartet that debuted publicly as part of the Moody Center for the Arts' New Art/New Music fall 2021 concert. The performances offer students an opportunity to compose and perform an original work that connects with new art on Rice’s campus. Vinson, a student of Rice composition and theory professor Kurt Stallmann, created the piece early in his first semester. He was encouraged by fellow student Claire Druffner to write a piece that she and her "cello besties" (fellow freshmen Evan Nicholson, Maximus Gurath and Sebastian Berofsky) could perform. Druffner said the piece sounds like it belongs in a motion picture score. "It's very exciting, very movie soundtrack-like and evokes a lot of images, I think," Druffner said. The quartet was coached by Rice professor of cello Norman Fischer. Vinson said he was inspired by artwork around campus and his fellow freshman performers when writing the piece. "Their enthusiasm and their joy in wanting to create something with me, it's very emblematic of our friendship and our camaraderie," he said. Vinson said working with only cellists made his writing process easier. Composing different parts for the same instrument allowed him to really consider each player, their abilities, their performance styles and individual personalities before coming up with the final piece. "It made it much more fun and more personable," he said. Vinson, who is originally from Oklahoma City, said music has always been part of his life, starting with the "sacred space" of church. He picked up violin and trumpet in sixth grade and quickly became interested in other instruments, including the viola and the cello. "It was that curiosity that is a fundamental part of being a composer," Vinson said. https://news.rice.edu/news/2022/musical-talent-shimmers For the full performance https://youtu.be/FMHEgU0oEAs #composition #cello #riceuniversity

"I never got to say that I was best friends with a composer whose piece I'm playing:" From the July 22 Celebrity Series Concert titled "Sui Generis - Original and Unique," 19-year old cellist Claire Druffner leads a cello quartet in a performance of "Shimmer!," a brand-new work by her friend and fellow Rice University Shepherd School of Music composition student Jaylin Vinson. Jaylin Vinson: Shimmer! (2021) Claire Druffner: Cello I Boubacar Diallo, Cello II Michael Zyzak: Cello III Nicholas Tsang, Cello IV More on how this unique quartet came in to being: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=62bPQszNtlQ Find out more about the Heifetz Institute at https://www.heifetzinstitute.org To Apply: https://www.heifetz.institute/applynow Subscribe to us on YouTube here: https://heifetz.institute/subscribe Follow us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/HeifetzMusic Follow @HeifetzMusic on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heifetzmusic/ Follow @HeifetzMusic on Twitter: https://twitter.com/heifetzmusic

I am a serial futurist. My thoughts are often anxiously fixed on the future, especially now, as I approach the end of an educational milestone. This forward-thinking mindset, while useful, has frequently caused me anxiety (and the attention of nosy relatives curious about my post-graduate plans). Recently, a close friend reminded me of the importance of living in the moment with sincere gratitude. Inspired by this advice, I created Carpe Diem as my practice in embracing the present. The ideas within this work exist freely, while embodying sentiments of gratitude, freedom, and play. This work is my reminder that the future will wait for me comfortably. It is time to live in the now and seize the day.

During the summer of 2023, the Kennedy Center engaged in a series of Hometown Community Activations with arts and cultural partners in each of the focus cities, to deepen and strengthen the work of the commissioned artists and the communities from which they have geographic proximity. In Houston, we partnered with the Project Row Houses and Houston Grand Opera to support the Hometown Activation for our WNO commissioned composer, Jaylin Vinson, and librettist, Deborah D.E.E.P. Mouton. Subscribe to The Kennedy Center! http://bit.ly/2gNFrtb

Performance of Scissor-Tailed for orchestra, July 2023, Brevard North Carolina

Jaylin Vinson shares his experience as a Festival Composer at Connecticut Summerfest. Learn more at https://ctsummerfest.org Music: "Boxers, Bullies, and Pugs" by Jaylin Vinson, performed by 2024 ensemble-in-residence Black Moon Trio

TNM Inview Episode 10 - Jaylin Vinson - Composer - Winner YCC 2022 (Division 2) Best in Score 2022 Concert Tickets: https://www.tickettailor.com/events/tribecanewmusic/775352 Jaylin Vinson is the 1st prize winner of the 2022 Young Composer Competition (Division 2 - ages 21 and younger). In this Inview he discusses his musical journey with TNM's Alex Sesenton. Jaylin Vinson (b. 2002) is a composer and violinist based in Oklahoma City. He is currently studying music at the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University. Jaylin uses his music to respond to his physical and intellectual interactions with the universe. Topics include admiration of the natural world, critiques of human society, and embracing his ethnic origins. Jaylin's Music Listening Schedule: Monday & Wednesday - Classical Tuesday - Hiphop, RnB, & Rap Thursday - Jazz Friday - AfroBeats Saturday - Potpourri day (whatever playlist he fancies at the moment) Sunday - Contemporary Gospel Favorite artist at the moment: Kendrick Lamar - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JocAXINz-YE If you enjoy Inviews, please remember to like and subscribe! Connect with us at: Website - https://www.tribecanewmusic.org/ Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/tribeca_new_music/ Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/TribecaNewMusic #tribecanewmusic #classicalmusic #musicinterview

Written for and premiered by Black Moon Trio at Connecticut Summerfest 2024.