As part of the Mary Duke Biddle Chamber Series, Elon University hosted the "Concert for Organ and String Quartet" in Whitley Auditorium Oct. 6.
However, in celebration of Elon’s 125th anniversary, the concert had a special component: an original piece written by Todd Coleman, an associate music professor, entitled “Numen Lumen.”
Mary Alice Bragg, Elon’s official organist, suggested Coleman for the job last year after hearing a piece he composed for last April’s “President’s Gala.” When Jeff Clark, executive director of cultural and special programs, thought of doing an original piece, Coleman was the first person Bragg thought of.
“[Coleman] is the composer here; that’s his specialty,” Bragg said. “He was trained to be a composer. He was the logical choice.”
For a piece celebrating Elon’s anniversary, Coleman wanted to choose a thread of Elon’s culture that would resonate with anybody involved in Elon. He chose Numen Lumen, which he said he thought reflected Elon’s atmosphere and sense of being the strongest.
“In connection with the 125th year, I wanted to choose an aspect that related to a number of people, so I chose Numen Lumen, based on our motto,” Coleman said. “[The piece] captures that sense of searching for knowledge and truth.”
Coleman had to work backwards for this song. Unlike most composed pieces, the instruments and musicians were picked early so Coleman had to write to cater to those instruments. He worked over the spring semester to compose the piece and by summer, it was ready for the musicians.
As a bass player, Coleman has a background in string instruments, so composing for the quartet was an easier feat. But luckily for Coleman, his access to the university’s organ simplified composing for the organ part of his piece.
“Because the organ in Whitley is easily accessible, I could determine what sounds I wanted,” Coleman said. “There were many different combination possibilities for each movement [of the piece].”
This is where Bragg came in to the creative process. Being the university’s organist, she worked with Coleman to achieve the sounds he wanted from the organ, comparing the organ to a whole orchestra in one instrument.
“I helped him register [the organ with] the piece,” Bragg said. “He told me what sounds he wanted [from the organ.] And it all worked. It is a tribute to him as a composer. I just helped accomplish what he had on the page.”
After listening to the piece, someone mentioned to Bragg how the piece as a whole works as a metaphor for Elon, the melody and pace of each of the piece’s three movements reflecting the growth and atmosphere of Elon. Bragg recognizes that this statement has a grain of truth in it.
“I hadn’t considered that aspect before,” Bragg said. “The piece stands on its own. But if we stand back, we can see the history throughout the movements of the piece.”
His music debuted at the “Concert for Organ and Strings” with immense praise. Bragg said the musicians even expressed interest in performing “Numen Lumen” again. Bragg credits this to Coleman’s ability as a composer and the strong piece he created.
“Todd Coleman is a master craftsman and I have the utmost respect for him,” Bragg said. “We are so fortunate to have him. It is a high review [of a composer] when the performers than to do [a piece] again.”