Corpse Flower - OB/PN

Corpse Flower

for oboe and piano
by Martin J. Van Klompenberg - American bassoonist and composer

ABOUT THE MUSIC

The Corpse Flower is not only one of the largest free-standing blossoming plants in the world, it also it also highly unique in that it requires 7 – 10 years to bloom for the first time. The plant must go through several germination cycles, moving through a single leaf phase multiple times prior to the first bloom.
This work tells the story of a corpse flower, beginning with the initial single leaf. This leaf returns to the corm, the 100-pound bulb from which the plant stems. When the bloom finally arrives, it can be as tall as ten feet tall, but only lasts about 48 hours until it begins to wilt. The withering can take much longer, as the bloom decays and the single leaf stage begins anew.

I had the good fortune to get to see a corpse flower in full bloom in the fall of 2020 (The cover art was taken from this flower), and the opportunity to see this marvel in person was the primary motivation behind writing this work.

This work was made possible by the following consortium of musicians:
Erin Webber, The University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas
Stephanie Carlson, Murray State University, Murray, Kentucky
Amy Collins, The University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida
Heather Killmeyer, East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, Tennessee
Theo-Hans Kuijvenhoven, Ridderkerk, Netherlands, Kelly McElrath Vaneman, Converse College, Spartanburg, SC

ABOUT THE COMPOSER

Originally from Holland, Michigan, Martin J. Van Klompenberg currently teaches bassoon and chamber music at the Challey School of Music at North Dakota State University.  From 2013 – 2022, he served as a member of the United States Army Band program, performing with the 101st Airborne Division “Air Assault” Band (Fort Campbell, KY), the 282nd Army Band (Fort Jackson, SC), and the 323rd Army Band “Fort Sam’s Own” (Fort Sam Houston/San Antonio, TX). Prior to joining the ranks of military musicians, he attended the University of Arizona, where he obtained the Doctorate of Musical Arts degree, studying with William Dietz. He also earned degrees from Arizona State University and Western Michigan University, studying with Albie Micklich and Wendy Rose, respectively. He has also studied composition with award-winning composer Jenni Brandon.

Martin currently performs with the Fargo-Moorhead and Bismarck-Mandan Symphony Orchestras, and has been privileged to perform with the Louisville Orchestra, West Virginia Symphony (Charleston, WV), Lexington (KY) Philharmonic, Fargo-Moorhead Opera, and his hometown, Holland (MI) Symphony Orchestra. He has also been fortunate to perform at conferences for the International Double Reed Society, the International Clarinet Association, the National Flute Association, the College Music Society, and the Texas Music Education Association.

A proponent of new music, Martin is active in commissioning projects for new works for bassoon, commissioning and premiering new works by Jamie Leigh Sampson, Lisa Neher, Rob McClure, Shao Fern Teo, Dylan Findley, and Brian Bunker. Currently, Martin is working with composer Snow Kim to commission a new piece for contrabassoon and piano.

As a composer, his works have been performed by artists such as the Heartland Marimba Ensemble, the University of Georgia Contemporary Ensemble, 240 Northern (Vancouver, British Columbia), Scott Pool (Bassoon – Texas A&M at Corpus Christi), Valerie Cowan (The United States Army Fife and Drum Corps), and Erin (Webber) Mallard (Oboe – The University of Texas at San Antonio), and at venues such as the National Flute Association annual convention, the International Clarinet Association ClarinetFest, International Double Reed Society annual conference, Mid-Atlantic Flute Convention, Vox Novus and the Tutti New Music Festival. In 2023, he was chosen as a winner of the International Double Reed Society Commissioning Competition, and his work, 3 Travelers, for solo bassoon, was premiered by Kunatorn Teekakul at their 2023 Annual Conference in Thailand. In July 2024, his new concerto for contrabassoon and chamber orchestra, The Crater of Doom, was premiered in Flagstaff, Arizona by Leigh Munoz (University of Missouri – Kansas City Conservatory of Music) and the Flagstaff Symphony Orchestra .

When not playing bassoon, Martin enjoys spending time with his wife, Abbie, (Assistant Professor of Music Education, Concordia College, Moorhead, MN), and his two rescue dogs, Sirius and Luna, visiting America’s zoos and supporting the Chicago Cubs.