The Presidential Suite is a series of pieces for different media and set-ups, based on material concerning US-American presidents.
Presidential Suite No. 1a: Something Larger (2011)
for big band and tape without conductor, 5'29''
Presidential Suite No. 1b: Something Larger (2013)
for orchestra and tape without conductor, 5'29''
Presidential Suite No. 1c: Something Larger (2019)
for vocal ensemble in three groups and tape without conductor, 5'29''
written for Solistenensemble PHØNIX16, Timo Kreuser
We are Americans, part of something larger than ourselves.
G.H.W.Bush, State of the Union Speech 1991
While surfing the internet for material to work with, I came across the State of the Union address given by President George H. W. Bush in January 1991. In the context of the crumbling of the Iron Curtain and shortly after the coalition forces began Operation Desert Storm against Iraq on January 17th, Bush states that Americans are „part of something larger than themselves“. The whole speech expresses the unshakeable belief in American pre-eminence. This pre-eminence, as President Bush senior puts it, does not derive from military or economic strength, but simply from the „American character“. The piece Something Larger is the attempt to support this attitude as emphatically as possible. Furthermore, the piece shows what happens, when someone hangs on President Bush’s lips (musically). [2013]
No. 1a premiered by HfMDK Big Band at HfMDK Jazzfest Frankfurt am Main, 2011
No. 1b premiered by Kringkastingstingsorkesteret, 23th of August 2013, 19.30 at NRK Store Studio, Oslo
Presidential Suite No. 2: Oh no, don't (2012)
Three suggestions on how to work with a sentence by Ronald Reagan
video, 12'17''
[...] I had underestimated him. He went on: "I would rather see my little girls die now, still believing in God, than have them grow up under communism and one day die no longer believing in God.
Ronald Reagan,
Speech to the National Association of Evangelicals, 8th of March, 1983
First shown on the 9th of December 2012, 20:00 at Godsbanen Aarhus and on the 10th of December 2012, 20:00 at Litteraturhaus, Copenhagen as part of Aarhus Unge Tonekunstneres Visual Music concert
Presidential Suite No. 3: Tiffany (2017)
music for six vocalists and eight speakers, 24'20''
My father is so friendly, so considerate, so funny, and so real.
His desire for excellence is contagious.
He's always helped me be the best version of myself.
Tiffany Trump, Republican National Convention
Cleveland, 19th of July 2016
Diamonds are so shimmery.
Tiffany Trump, Like a bird, BMI records 2011
The six vocalists of Solistenensemble PHØNIX16 are each assigned to one speaker respectively, and only repeat what they are hearing. There is no score. Additional material includes Tiffany Trump's speech at the Republican National Convention 2016 as well as her 2011 pop song "Like a bird".
Written for Solistenensemble PHØNIX16, Timo Kreuser, Berlin with generous support of Hauptstadtkulturfond Berlin, premiered on the 30th of December 2017, 20:00 at Columbia Theater, Berlin.
Jonathan Boudevin of Solistenensemble PHØNIX16 in rehearsal for Tiffany, Berlin 2019.
Presidential Suite No. 4: a different reality exists (2020)
a sound massage. soundfile and performance, 24'
"[...] a different reality exists [...]" - Donald Trump, 20th of January, 2017
