Reviews

Reviews

in descending chronological order

“The evening began with a commissioned fanfare by University of Miami professor Dorothy Hindman, who told the audience she designed her celebratory piece around her backyard orchids. Orchids Grow Here resonates brightly with bells and brass, with what seems like dozens of motifs climbing simultaneously upward. There is a disorganized exuberance in it — simultaneous melodic passages, no two of them exactly alike. Playful touches include the growl of a trombone and a faint echo of wind chimes.”
~Andrew Meacham, “Trumpeter is the highlight of a concert featuring ‘West Side Story’ themes,” Tampa Bay Times, 2/18/18, 12:16 PM

“The music of American composer Dorothy Hindman is sparkling and engaging, contemporary in flavour and offering unusual sounds and evocative melodies. The compositions on American composer Dorothy Hindman’s Tightly Wound cover a period from from 1994 to 2016, showcasing the range of her musical vision. In contrast to most classical recordings, the CD is made up of 15 short tracks on two CDs, the longest of which clocks in at less than 15 minutes. It adds to the sense of immediacy of the music, and creates unusual effects. The instrumentation is spare, with an insistent rhythmic pulse to the music, often accompanied by a strong sense of theatricality and drama. Tracks like Ticking, the first movement of the Setting Century Symphony as performed by Ensemble Ibis, are especially kinetic. Time Management is a piece for solo bass. As played by Robert Black, the double bass whines, mourns, sings, and murmurs expressively as the music examines the difficulties of juggling the facets of modern life.”
~Anya Wassenburg, “DOROTHY HINDMAN: TIGHTLY WOUND (Innova Recordings – Nov 17 2017),” NuMusic/Classical, Feb. 18, 2018

Born in 1966, Floridian Dorothy Hindman is among the generation of classical composers that have been impacted by the European/American classical tradition and post-1960s rock (including punk and grunge). She composes for “regular” instrumentation (piano, strings, sax, choirs, etc.) and electronic media (soundfiles, mobile phones, etc.) This two-CD set presents a fascinating cross-section of her music written for stringed instruments (violin, acoustic bass, guitar, etc.) and piano. Her music is mostly tonal (as opposed to atonal, which drives some people to the exits) and she employs dissonance judiciously. Hindman employs the structures and dynamics of old-school composers—Brahms, Copeland, Barber—and employs them in the language(s) of this century. Much of “Jerusalem Windows” is just as rapturous as the chamber music of Brahms or Dvorak, while “Monumenti” (for violin and cello) has some of the cyclic, insistent minimalist tension of Glass and Adams dusted with East European folk flavors. “Time Management” could be subtitled “Voyage to the Bottom of the Bass,” as it shows just how much sound and emotion can be deeply, eerily coaxed from a single acoustic bass. Without any overt fusion moves, Hindman’s music weds technique and syntax of classical music with the directness and impudence of rock. Highly recommended for rockers wishing to get their proverbial feet wet in post-20th century classical music and classical fans who think much post- Leonard Bernstein music sounds like stuff falling down a stairwell. (15 tracks, 135 min.) innova.mu 
~Mark Keresman, “Dorothy Hindman: Tightly Wound: Music for Strings, Innova” ICON FEBRUARY 2018 

translated from the Italian:
“An exhaustive monographic path between the compositions, written between 1994 and 2016, which clearly shows the stylistic and compositional originality of one of the most active American composers of contemporary music. [Her] music, often very rhythmic, is based on a meticulous work of timbre and choice of instrumental effects, as well as on a careful development of melodic ideas, which gives the maximum sonic performance in the chamber formations. Very interesting compositions for solo guitar or quartet of guitars, but the multiform musical offer of this CD that moves between compositions for Duo (piano and violin), Trio, String Quartet, up to the chamber ensemble, combined with originality of the inspiration that underlies it, gives an interesting and stimulating listening experience.”
~Luciano Feliciani, “Dorothy Hindman ‘Tightly Wound: music for strings'”, Kathodik, January 19, 2018

Hindman’s The Steinway Preludes is a post modern technical display piece. Utilizing one end of the keyboard without pedaling, “Sparkling” is bright and playful. “Pearly” is a fresh re-imagining of a Debussy-styled prelude. In “Velvety,” the middle pedal which sustains a note is prominently displayed as a resonant theme builds among rippling figuration. In her introductory remarks, Hindman said she wanted the listener to hear the instrument’s hammers repeatedly being struck in “Brittle” and she certainly accomplished that. “Thunderous” brings vigorous, dynamic piano lines at full force. Both entertaining and a technical minefield, Hindman’s miniatures were delightful and Mason seemed to thrive on them.
~ Lawrence Budmen, “Pianist Jacob Mason makes strong impression in adventurous recital,” South Florida Classical Review, 6/10/2017

Dorothy Hindman’s range of expression on display in retrospective
Composer Dorothy Hindman celebrated her 50th birthday Tuesday night with a musical party, and large-scale retrospective of her chamber music at Weill Recital Hall. What came through in the 11 works was that Hindman, who teaches at the Frost Music School at the University of Miami, doesn’t have an overriding style in the conventional sense. Instead, she uses elements of some contemporary compositional styles, applying them as needed to realize her ideas. As an example, she generates the overtones to particular pitches, as the spectralists do, but she doesn’t make music that fits easily into the common spectral forms. She’ll also base a piece off of a track of popular music, but the results are nothing like indie-classical.
This gives her work a nice expressive flexibility, which is ideal for an artist like Hindman who keeps her intentions, and her heart, upfront.
Read more…
~Grella, George. “Dorothy Hindman’s range of expression on display in retrospective,” The New York Classical Review. 3/9/16, 12:40 pm. 

“Composer Dorothy Hindman says the inspiration for her piece Taut is the tightness of the guitar strings as well as the personal tensions felt by players in very tight ensemble situations. She speaks of their heightened emotional states and their ability to draw listeners into their musical milieu. To do this she presents four motives at the beginning of the piece and develops them by various means. It makes for a dramatic, highly strung piece.”
~ Maria Nockin, Corona Gtr Qrt: TAUT on ALBANY, Fanfare Magazine, 7/20/15, 12:51 PM

Tapping the Furnace is Miami-based composer Dorothy Hindman’s tribute to places and people in American history. Birmingham, Alabama, called “Magic City” due to its prosperous economy, receives a triumphant homage on this CD, but the title track and the centerpiece percussion composition refer to the furnace that drove Birmingham’s steel economy, and whose dangerous operations claimed the lives of many workers, largely African Americans. Needlepoint for solo guitar serves as a tribute to Hindman’s cancer-ridden mother who, between bouts of chemotherapy, created a sampler for her grandson. Other instrumental works, concerned with timbres, colors, and textures, seem to have no programmatic devices. Hindman’s best work is frequently, but not exclusively, found in her ensemble rather than solo music. 
Read more…
Carol Ann Weaver, “Compact Disc Reviews: Tapping the Furnace: Music by Dorothy Hindman, lnnova848(2013),” IAWM Journal Volume 21, No. 1 2015, 44-45

“The rhythm of the dance formed the unifying musical ground in works by Beethoven, Dorothy Hindman and Roberto Sierra at the Frost Symphony Orchestra’s concert on Saturday night. …
The genesis of Setting Century by Frost faculty member Dorothy Hindman was a 1999 chamber work. This revised orchestral version received its premiere in an incisive performance conducted by Alexander Magalong who is studying for his master’s degree under Sleeper. Hindman’s three-movement suite is ingeniously crafted. The score is an imaginative essay in orchestral rhythm and color. The initial section “Ticking” is based on a brief, repeated figure in the violins, like the machinery of a clock. Gradually larger melodic threads emerge. The piano imitates bells over long string lines in “Tolling.” As the winds and strings branch out to broader, more complex patterns, the overall effect is powerful. Dance-like themes give the entire orchestra a good workout in “Streaming,”. An extended episode for winds exploits the individual instruments’ timbres in striking fashion. Hindman could not have wished for a better performance, with Magalong keeping the ensemble playing tight and crisp. Special kudos  to Rosangel Perez for a brilliant traversal of the extended piano part.”
~Lawrence Budmen, “Frost Symphony Orchestra hits the dance floor, from Beethoven to Hindman,” South Florida Classical Review, 10/16/16

Heroic Measures by Dorothy Hindman received its world premiere Wednesday. The score is conceived as an elegy and tribute to individuals who have died from catastrophic illness despite continuing medical treatment. The subject matter is not the favored media tale of people triumphing over a killer disease nor is Hindman’s score sentimental ear candy for the audience — rather, her music is intense and rewarding. Heroic Measures begins with piercing writing for violin and clarinet against a jagged piano line. After a more agitated section, the music becomes increasingly dark and desolate. At times the violin is played close to the bridge, producing harsh sounds. Short melodic cells and figurations lead to a series of single chords with the clarinetist breathing into the instrument. One final slow breath concludes this emotional journey without any catharsis. Demanding for performers and audience alike, Hindman’s score is powerful and skillfully conceived. She could not have wished for a more riveting, committed performance, as given by violinist Scott Flavin, clarinetist Donaghue Flavin and pianist Marina Radiushina.
~Lawrence Budmen, “UM Frost faculty members give program a jolt,” SouthFloridaClassicalReview.com, FRIDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2014

“Dorothy Hindman’s Jerusalem Windows is a musical embodiment of Marc Chagall’s stained glass windows in the Synagogue at the medical center of Hadassah-Hebrew University in Jerusalem. Like Chagall’s wildly colorful abstractions, Hindman’s work abounds in fragments of color, short melodic cells, overlapping textures and sudden changes of timbre and meter.
Brief moments of expansive melody in the strings and sections for prepared piano (with objects placed on or between the instrument’s strings) spice the 2002 score. Hindman succeeds in creating a musical tapestry that parallels the leaping figures and color splashes that dominate Chagall’s vast abstractions. In a superbly detailed performance, pianist Milana Strezeva was a tower of strength in the busy keyboard lines.”
~Lawrence Budmen, “Manhattan Piano Trio offers bracing music by Frost School faculty,” South Florida Classical Review, Thursday, October 17, 2013

Kultur Review, Czech Republic (roughly translated from Czech):
“It is still true what I said about Innova Recordings in past reviews: Its varied repertoire of … composers and performers resonate with the times. It is therefore not surprising that innova’s catalog included the composer Dorothy Hindman (1966), which for some time (her composition dates from 1989) is one of the hopes of the present chamber music not only on the Miami music scene but in a much broader context, and is not unknown in our country.  And Tapping the Furnace conclusively [proves her] versatility, since each of the six compositions herein demonstrates another, rather different approach to the topic. … the choice of performers is clearly one positive aspect of the album. … Atlas Saxophone Quartet makes [Drift for saxophone quartet] tryst with sinuous [precision] … “drowningXnumbers” … is a well-founded rhythmic [composition], featuring Craig Hultgren on amplified cello, divided into three distinct sections, one of the highlights of the compact disc. [In] the first part’s [rapid melodies] Hultgren brilliantly intertwines its twists and returns to some motives, as if he wanted to re-make them especially, play with them and [dig them out].  The second section has sighing tones with punctures and … has a density …, while at the end alternates … with a bow, a brilliant and effective decay, … teasing through roulette and siren moments, later sliding down …. No wonder: the inspiration was the eponymous film composer Peter Greenaway. Fin de cycle, expressing the atmosphere of the century, is entrusted to another outstanding soloist, pianist Laura Gordy, whose technique [is] blessed by explosiveness.  … Gordy, who commissioned the music, can be [reckless], chattering and [murmuring] … a [separate] model, which in effect contributes [a] connection with [parallel] recordings on tape.  Percussionist Stuart Gerber has the title track, relating to hazardous metallurgical work and its victims, with … rebelliousness, mixing utterances and [shouting]. His speech is resolutely strong, like a [rapid-fire salesman], which however does not diminish the seriousness of the topic. Also Needlepoint has a tragic undertone, originating in the composer’s mother’s insidious cancer and chemotherapy. Guitarist Paul Bowman … plays with [pull-off] tones, with [waterfall] balefulness, …, [creating] solidity with a hint of percussion postscripts … When I listen it seems as if certain tones are gradually repudiated, to pursue further. [The] Conclusion should crown the album. Magic City (published in 2006 on the Compendium Masterworks of the New Era Vol 7 on ERM Media) is dedicated to Birmingham and the author chooses fragmentary melodic and compositional coherence. Indeed, it seems that there is captured an urban scenery beat with its vibrating … and clustering.  Overall, however, it’s more like film music with hints of Broadway and small prefabricated sections by Janáček after Gershwin. … That does not detract from the CD as a whole. Dorothy Hindman’s expressed extraordinariness glimpses into interesting topics, concepts of modernity and structured complexity. I think for many listeners the composer’s first CD Tapping The Furnace represents a remarkable discovery.”
~ Slabý Z. K., Kulturni Magazin UNI, August, 2013

Tapping The Furnace
“This CD features US composer Dorothy Hindman. It culls works composed in the 1990s and 2000s. It is a mixed bag: a sax quartet, a piece for orchestra, and solos for guitar, percussion, amplified cello, and piano with tape (the latter is the sole incursion in the digital realm, and I can’t say it is conclusive). … Highlights are “drowningXnumbers” performed by cellist Craig Hultgren, a complex work that gradually dissipates, and “Tapping the Furnace,” a very interesting percussion piece that calls for vocalizations and increasingly muffled sounds.”
~Monsieur Délire: Dorothy Hindman, Gino Robair, Meichel/Dadge, Moondoc/Crothers, July 7-8, 2013

“The newly commissioned choral work [Prothalamia] by award winning American composers Charles Norman Mason and Dorothy Hindman comprises songs and odes exploring marriage equality. … If you love classical music, if you wish to be taken in by new music which is varied, utterly rich and sung with purpose and heart, you will love Prothalamia. … [Hindman’s] Credo is next based on an excerpt from Walt Whitman’s Song of Myself, 1856. It is the highlight of the work for me, so rich it should become the It wedding song for straight and gay people … Finally, there is [Hindman’s] Agnus Dei, consisting of a text by the Roman writer Marital, Epigrammata 12.42 ca. C.E. 101 which brings us back to reality as we depart the exploration of marriage equality in music. The text speaks for itself:
The bearded Callistratus married the rugged Afer Under the same law by which a woman takes a husband. Torches were carried before him, a bridal veil covered his face, Nor was the hymn to you, O god of marriage, omitted A dowry was even agreed on. Does this not, Rome, seem Enough?
As Agnus Dei brings us back to the reality of today, it hopefully draws people into a meaningful conversation about marriage and what it means to individuals and to society. Because marriage equality has not been reflected upon in music, Prothalamia should expand and deepen the form and substance of the larger national debate with the polemical volume turned down and the atmosphere of appreciation turned up.”
~Elizabeth Donoghue, “A Musical Interpretation of Same Sex Marriage,” The Huffington Post, May 16, 2010

“Rarely will a recital such as this engage the ear from beginning to end, yet each piece at Birmingham Museum of Art had a unique style and temperament, reflecting Pollick’s keen sense for gleaning quality in experimental music and giving these scores their rightful due … Dorothy Hindman introduced her “Fantasia for Karen Alone,” a slowly unfolding dialogue with a recorded violin in pointillistic plucks and snaps and high-pitched harmonics.”
~Michael Huebner, “Karen Bentley Pollick: Virtuosity of the avant garde,” The Birmingham News, March 11, 2010

“The concert’s featured work was the premiere of Dorothy Hindman’s “Sursum Corda,” named for the choir.  Set to a Ralph Waldo Emerson text, Hindman wrote to the choir’s strengths with its reflective beauty and suave harmonies.  Like most of the music on the concert, it tested the choir’s adaptability to new scores while playing to its strengths.”
~Michael Huebner, “Sursum Corda singers hit new mark for strength, individuality,” The Birmingham News, April 15, 2009

“Birmingham-Southern faculty composer Dorothy Hindman realized the full potential of the entire Goliard in her continuous song cycle, “The Pillow Book.” Hindman, who is also the ensemble’s composer-in-residence, derived the tonal materials for the 15-minute piece from pentatonic and whole-tone scales and framed her tunes and chords with string harmonics and other effects. Lyrical melodies structured around hard-to-miss climaxes give “The Pillow Book” its momentum. While the piece was conceived as a series of short episodes, the overall result was seamless and organic.”
~Phillip Ratliff, “Ensemble performs eclectic, uneven show with rich vocals,” The Birmingham News, Sunday, February 22, 2009

“Of the four pieces by local composers, Dorothy Hindman’s “Tapping the Furnace” for solo percussion stood out for its clever tone colors and visceral energy.  Hindman’s work required percussionist Stuart Gerber to vocalize throughout, on a text taken from an oral history given by a black worker at Sloss Furnaces.  Vernacular English, filtered through an amped-up form of Sprechstimme (speech-song), provided a near-perfect complement to the sounds of metal and skin in this intense, primal piece.”
~Phillip Ratliff, “Duo inventive with new, local works,” The Birmingham News, Saturday, February 7, 2009

“The premiere:  BSC’s Dorothy Hindman wrote “Is this then a touch?” in Rome two years [ago], but had Seigel in mind.  Its visceral text, from Walt Whitman’s “Leaves of Grass,” translated to a biting, dissonant score with a stinging catharsis.”
~Michael Huebner, “Seigel recital at Birmingham-Southern College powerful and vivid,” September 3, 2008

“In Needlepoint, which Hindman composed while her mother was battling cancer, two antithetical themes – one calm, one spiky, with lots of guitar-slapping and other effects – are pitted against each other, with the latter seeming to “infect” the former with increasing dissonance.  The piece ends on one subdued chord.”
~ “Review: guitar in an expanded sound world,” Monday, April 14, 2008.

“Dorothy Hindman’s Tapping the Furnace was particularly memorable, using cymbals, coins and narration to recount a story about furnace workers in Alabama.  Percussionist Scott Deal performed the piece with enthralling conviction.”
~Luke Gullickson, “National Conference: A review of the 2008 SCI National Conference at Georgia State University,” Society of Composers Newsletter, XXXVIII: 1, January-February 2008.

“Dorothy Hindman reprised her “Needlepoint,” a poignant evocation for solo guitar that was inspired by her mother’s battle with cancer.”
~Michael Huebner, “Bowman contributes versatility, talent,” The Birmingham News, Sunday, November 11, 2007

“There was also a premiere, Dorothy Hindman’s solo percussion work “Tapping the Furnace.”  Written for Stuart Gerber, it’s a piece with a specific narrative: the Sloss Furnaces in Birmingham, now an Alabama arts center, once thrived on forced labor from convicts, mostly African-Americans.  Along with the music, there is a text, excerpted from an oral history, which Gerber spurted out in tempo.  The overwhelming sound is that of drum outbursts, patterned in the same numbers as the shifts at the furnace.  The patterns and text repeat themselves until, like the laborers, we feel beaten down.  Still, there was enjoyment in watching Gerber at work, wielding an array of equipment with consummate skill.”
~James L. Paulk, “Edgy ensemble adds history to modern mix,” Atlanta Journal-Constitution, October 4, 2007

“BSC’s Dorothy Hindman’s drowningXnumbers (1994) for electronic cello is grittier and more frantic with its string scratches and rhythmic strumming and plucking, but its progression from fast and furious to ethereal and reflective make for satisfying listening.”
~Michael Huebner, “Cello, saxophone pieces keep show in sound shape,” The Birmingham News, Tuesday, June 5, 2007

“Dorothy Hindman approached the edge of possibilities for [violin and guitar] with bleeps, spurts and slides in three small gestures.”
~Michael Huebner, “Duo airs new music from the soulful to the abstract,” The Birmingham News, February 13, 2007

“Best of the cutting edge: Fresh from her Rome residency, Dorothy Hindman produced a personal view of the trials of learning a new language in the cleverly scored “Lost in Translation” for soprano saxophone and piano.”
~Michael Huebner, “BAMA concert draws from electronics, ‘found’ notes,” The Birmingham News, Sunday, October 8, 2006

“Birmingham Art Music Alliance has proved time and again that the experimental and avant garde are still healthy and relevant. These steadfast modernists are surviving the onslaught of what many classical music marketers perceive as audience-pleasing (therefore tonally conservative) new music. Instead, they stage a refreshing mix of world premieres, off-the-beaten-track oddities and multimedia works.
BSC’s Dorothy Hindman contributed “Monumenti,” a duo inspired by Cindy Sheehan’s anti-war protests in which images of confrontations, arguments, periods of repose, humor and ridicule were easy to conjure from the two opposing instruments.”
~Michael Huebner, “Duo premieres five works,” The Birmingham News, Sunday, March 05, 2006

“… BSC composer … Dorothy Hindman presented her colorfully orchestrated, rhythmically playful “Streaming,” a movement from a larger work composed in 1999.”
~Michael Huebner, “BSC musicians help celebrate 150 years,” The Birmingham News, Monday, October 10, 2005

The Winners
“The jury felt very strongly about two of the scores submitted in the Solo Bass or Bass with Piano category. … So this year we have two winning works: Time Management for solo double bass by Dorothy Hindman, Professor of Theory and Composition at Birmingham Southern College in Alabama, and Vision Quest by Phoenix Symphony bassist and Grammy-nominated composer Glenn Stallcop.
Time Management is a concept piece, one might even say a programmatic work.  Having much in common with Deak’s Failing, the underlying idea is that at first musical events are spaced at a relaxed pace, but as the piece continues it becomes more and more hectic until it bursts at the seams and time is no longer manageable.  Unlike the Deak, however, the vocabulary of this work is filled with extended gestures such as artificial harmonic glissandi, bowing behind the bridge, left hand hammer-ons, overly pressed scratchy tones, etc.  The piece has all the attributes of a great story, beginning in a quirky fun manner and then becoming something unexpected, a virtuosic display with a wildly exciting ending.  It is difficult to describe specific details, since the order of the gestures doesn’t appear to be significant.  It is the effect of the pacing that is the tour de force, a one-way downhill roller coaster ride.  From a purely technical standpoint, the piece is not terribly difficult at first glance.  That is to say that the work remains in the lower half of the instrument for the most part and only ventures into the very highest registers for effect.  The extraordinary challenge is to execute the variety of extended gestures within the tempo over eleven minuets.  To play this work successfully requires mastering the art of Time Management.”
~Hans Sturm, editor. “The Latest Score,” Bass World, Vol. 28, No. 3, 2005

 “At Luna Nova’s daring concert Tuesday, it was easy to pretend that Hess-Abroms Recital Hall was an experimental music venue in New York or a Vienna salon in the early 20th century, not the Alabama School of Fine Arts. …
Dorothy Hindman explores three textures in “Setting Century.” Its relentless ticking, ominous bell-like piano chords and expansive melodies each are strong statements, …”
~Michael Huebner, “Luna Nova proves it’s a shining star,” The Birmingham News, Wednesday, June 29, 2005

“I went to see the NYSQ [New York Saxophone Quartet] at the Weill recital hall in Carnegie Hall this past Sunday night. The performance was breathtaking. For those of you who don’t know, NYSQ features some of New York’s woodwind legends: Dennis Anderson on soprano, Ralph Olsen on alto, Ken Hitchcock on tenor, and newest member Lino Gomez on bari. Dennis played alto with the group for some years before moving to the soprano chair.
The concert was all premieres, featuring the following newly commissioned works in this order: Three American Dances by Edward Paul Mascari; Mosaic by Michael Holober; Market Forces (2005) by Eric Moe; Canzona Corrente by Dennis Anderson; Rhapsody for Saxophone Quartet by Eric Ewazen; and Drift by Dorothy Hindman.
…Drift was similar in texture to the faster movements of [Moe’s] “Market Forces”- heavy bari sax staccatos with the other instruments layering over top. This palette was contrasted with a wavelike tradeoff occurring toward the end of the piece, and the abrupt ending in harmonic ascension, though expected, was very pleasing. This was the most poetic of the pieces.”
~ Ian O’Beirne. “Concert done on 6/26/05 by New York Saxophone Quartet,” Saxontheweb.net., June 26, 2005

“Dorothy Hindman’s clever, smile-inducing ‘Drift’ is a rhythmic minefield that explores various harmonies in quick succession.”
~Michael Huebner, “ARA Excels at BSC,” The Birmingham News, Sunday, April 17, 2005

“Dorothy Hindman’s “Needlepoint” was a pastiche of textures – strings snapping percussively against the fingerboard one moment, more lyrical but dissonant figures the next.  Bowman held its patchwork design together nicely.”
~Michael Huebner, “New Music, Old Music,” The Birmingham News, Sunday, March 20, 2005

“The first piece is “Drift” by Dorothy Hindman and is played by the ASU Sax Quartet.  Mechanical punctuations initiate this work and the student ensemble is really digging in deep to the music.  Long and smooth gestures arise from the grooves and give way to more punchy stuff.  The harmonies change at unexpected times and slap-tonguing thickens the texture.  Lots of great visceral energies here.  Gradually more sustained lines emerge from the held tones and the piece disintegrates quickly.”
~Jay C. Batzner, “Final Concert of SCI Region 6 – 2004,” SCI Conference Blog, Monday, February 2, 2004

“Hindman’s 1993 “Chemistry” was a regional premiere.  Underpinned by piano and vibraphone, it is tightly woven with a gentle flow of motives and ideas, rather like molecules in solution.  Fuller gave it graceful pacing, allowing its contrasting colors – strings, winds, brass and percussion – to emerge clearly.”
~Mary Ellyn Hutton, “ARC Ensemble at Rosenthal Center,” The Cincinnati Post, November 21, 2003

Goliard offers city’s best
“The best of the five works on the Birmingham Art Music Alliance program came from the husband and wife team of Charles Norman Mason and Dorothy Hindman. … Hindman brought David Smith’s nostalgic poetry to life in “Three Songs of Reminiscence.” Hints of tango rhythms in “American Plantagenet” provided ironic contrast to the story of an itinerant preacher.  The tale of a double suicide drowning in 1946 was poignantly rendered by tenor James Blanton and pianist Arielle Levioff.  Smith’s appearance with Birmingham’s Three Tenors was remembered in the delightful opera parody, “Aria,” which ends on a hearty high note with “Tenorissimo.”  Goliard’s Blanton provided the grandstanding.”
~Michael Huebner, “ASO’s Pandolfi to solo on Mozart Horn Concerto No. 4,” The Birmingham News, Sunday, October 19, 2003

“Of the Alabama works, Dorothy Hindman’s solo piano “Forward Looking Back” combined the freedom of Charles Ives with the shimmer of Claude Debussy, without mimicking those composers.  Its allure lies with its passion and lyricism, which seem to bound past any stylistic restraints.”
~Michael Huebner, “New York, Birmingham duel by using new compositions,” The Birmingham News, Tuesday, August 5, 2003

 “By contrast, Dorothy Hindman’s tremblings [sic], … also for solo flute, consists of a wide diversity of gestures that makes a compelling case for the unaccompanied solo performance.  On the whole, Ms. Hindman’s exploration of the instrument is a showpiece experience for the performer and an engaging and refreshing one for the listener.”
~John de Clef Piñeiro. “Voices Old and New from Vox Novus,” New Music Connoisseur, Vol. 11, No. 1, March 2003

“New music specialist Rob Conway, known for his interpretations of John Cage, Elliott Carter, Iannis Xenakis and other big-name modernists, delivered a gripping program of adventurous, avant garde works Monday. Held at Samford University’s Wright Recital Hall and sponsored by the Birmingham Art Music Alliance, the concert spotlighted some of Birmingham’s best composers.  The Detroit-based pianist started with Dorothy Hindman’s piano and tape dialogue, “fin de cycle,” which creates an engaging, conversational give-and-take in a variety of moods and textures.  String plucking and other inside-the-piano devices added to her expansive sonic arsenal.”
~Michael Huebner, “Pianist Rob Conway,” The Birmingham News, Sunday, December 8, 2002

“Birmingham’s new music ambassador Craig Hultgren performed a captivating array of works for cello with video accompaniment, the best of which was Dorothy Hindman’s “drowningXnumbers.”  Intense, gripping, frenetic at times, it held the listeners in rapt attention.”
~Michael Huebner, “Arts alternatives presented aplenty at festival’s New Arts, Oasis stages,” The Birmingham News, Sunday, May 26, 2002

 “Dorothy Hindman, who teaches at Birmingham-Southern College, has produced a very likeable 10-minute overture in “Magic City.”  Inspired by her adopted home, she paints a musical canvas that vividly suggests expansiveness and city bustle.  Repeated notes and overlapping phrases set the backdrop for the work’s well-crafted orchestration.  The work’s musical language, a combination of Paul Hindemith with the trendy minimalism of Philip Glass and John Adams, reveals little in the way of innovation, but the two work surprisingly well together.”
~Michael Huebner, “ASO’s ‘Magic City’ well crafted,” The Birmingham News, Friday, February 1, 2002

“Pandora’s Box is a delightful work appropriate for fourth and fifth grade students, and possibly even third grade students to perform.  All elementary ages would enjoy viewing the performance; even young students would be albe to follow the story line and understand the conflict of good versus evil inherent in the music and lyrics.  Performance time is about twenty minutes, so it would appeal to those with shorter attention spans, or could be easily partnered with another work to create a longer program.
The characters are easily identified.  Pandora, the Greek gods, the nine Evil Spirits, and Hope all pantomime the action as the chorus tells the story.  These non-speaking and possibly non-singing parts are an excellent way to feature those students who are not necessarily strong singers and who might be overlooked otherwise.  The movements of the pantomime are simple: the gods making the box, Pandora’s indecision, and the opening of the box and the Evil Spirits as they emerge provide action and interest.  The only necessary effect or prop is the box out of which the Spirits and Hope must climb.  Costumes could be simple togas fashioned from bed sheets using colors to indicate different characterizations.
The music is tuneful and accessible for singers and the young audience, the lyrics easily understood.  Key changes are effective in establishing the moods and characterizations.  Vocal ranges are appropriate for the elementary aged singer and the piano accompaniment will not overshadow young voices or overly challenge an inexperienced accompanist.
Overall, Pandora’s Box is an excellent choice for an elementary group.  It could be part of a variety of teaching units and would be a valuable and entertaining learning experience.”
~Jane Modlin, “Pandora’s Box: Music and Lyrics by Dorothy Hindman,” Opera for Youth Journal, Vol. 22, No. 4, Summer 2000

“Top honors go to pianist Kevin Grigsby for several superb performances volunteered all within the space of an hour or tow, including Dorothy Hindman’s winningly romanticized piano suite Forward Looking Back … and Hindman’s dynamic Songs of Reminiscence, sung by David Smith, whose final note resonated through the vaulted space for several thrilling seconds.”
~Nancy Raabe, “New Arts Stage finds its niche,” The Birmingham News, Sunday, June 18, 2000

“Dorothy Hindman’s Setting Century for chamber ensemble, played crisply by [Donald] Ashworth, [Craig] Hultgren, clarinetist Lori Ardovino, violinist Serghei Tanas and pianist Kevin Grigsby, had a visceral impact.”
~Nancy Raabe, “Multiplicity of styles highlights concert,” The Birmingham News, Wednesday, October 20, 1999

“A better piece was Beyond the Clouds [sic] of [Un]Knowing, [performed] by Eric Hollenbeck. It caught my attention from the beginning and held it well beyond the final note. It contained a remarkable contrast of dynamics. The contrast represented a struggle between chaos and order, in which order is represented by consonant melodic and harmonic fragments that reoccur throughout the piece, and chaos is represented by more dissonant material that obscures the former.”
~Stephen Shillito, “BAMA brings the avant-garde to UM,” The Alabamian, April 21, 1999

“Several items on Tuesday’s program met with acclaim. Foremost was Dorothy Hindman’s superbly crafted Songs of Reminiscence, premiered last year at Birmingham-Southern College by tenor David Smith. Author of the texts, Smith sang in this performance with accompaniment by pianist Kevin Grigsby.  Lively, engaging and bursting with bravura, the cycle will find itself much in demand once word spreads.”
~Nancy Raabe. “Warmth, enthusiasm flow at BAMA concert,” The Birmingham News, January 27, 1999

 “Other stimulating works included … Dorothy Hindman’s sure-handed Trembling, confidently rendered by solo flutist Donald E. Ashworth.”
~Nancy Raabe,  “BAMA concert raises question of ‘new music appreciation’,” The Birmingham News, July 28, 1998

“The opening composition, Dorothy Hindman’s “drowningXnumbers” (1994) for amplified cello, won the 1995 NACUSA Young Composers’ Competition.  Hindman wrote the piece for Craig Hultgren, who plays the work brilliantly, covering the full dynamic range and a variety of moods.  From the fire and aggression of the first section, through a percussive middle, to the quietly desolate conclusion – Hindman and Hultgren take the listener on a fascinating and colorful journey.  “drowningXnumbers” is a piece which deserves to be played and heard more often.”
~Jeremy Beck, “CD of the Living Music,” 20th Century Music, October 1997

“Dorothy Hindman’s lush, broadly scaled Chemistry reveled in long lines, subtly changing colors and exquisite chordal sonorities.”
~Nancy Raabe, “ASO Proves symphonic music is alive, lots of fun,” The Birmingham News, Oct. 10, 1997

‘Persuasive as well was Dorothy Hindman’s “I Have Heard…,” a creative and sure-handed treatment of excerpts from Walt Whitman’s “Song of Myself.”’
~Nancy Raabe,  “BAMA produces contemporary fun,” The Birmingham News, October 8, 1997

“Dorothy Hindman’s “fin de cycle”: A world premiere, for solo piano and electronic tape.  ‘This is the first piece I’ve commissioned for myself alone,’ says Gordy, who’s had a role in nearly 50 commissions for Thamyris.  Gordy adds: ‘It starts out with a conventional piano sound, but as it progresses the acoustic piano begins to sound more like the tape.”
~Derrick Henry,  “Thamyris is cutting edge on ‘Future’”, The Atlanta Journal/The Atlanta Constitution, Friday, May 16, 1997

“More conventional in conception but equally welcome … Dorothy Hindman’s attractive Soliloquy for Clarinet, played by Lori Neprud-Ardovino…”
~Nancy Raabe, “Concert enables listeners to hear new world of sound,” The Birmingham News, Tuesday, March 11, 1997

“Foremost on this occasion were performances of music by Birmingham-Southern College’s Charles Norman Mason and Dorothy Hindman.  Two were world premieres: … [incuding] Hindman’s I Have Heard…, a sonorous and affirmative setting of passages from Whitman’s Leaves of Grass.”
~Nancy Raabe, Smith Singers open window to American choral tradition,” I Have Heard…,” The Birmingham News, February 25, 1997

“Most impressive was Craig Hultgren’s performance of Dorothy Hindman’s “drowningXnumbers”, which requires virtuosic technique and a vast array of unconventional timbres…This piece presents an impressive collection of extended techniques and timbres — some conventional, many developed by the composer — available for the instrument.”
~C.P. First, “Review of Birmingham Art Music Alliance Concert II, 95-96 season, featuring “drowningXnumbers”,” Living Music Journal, Spring 1996

“Dorothy Hindman’s “Forward Looking Back” was given a commanding performance by Marc Couroux.  This is music of terrific romantic gesture.  Particularly attractive was a dreamy mood movement, a kind of improvisation for a night in the city.”
~Thomas Putnam, “June Bugs: Young Composers are grounded in the past,” The Buffalo News, June 10, 1994

“Dorothy E. Hindman’s original score and effects add yet another dimension to the work.”
~George Capewell, “Reworked Papa even better than original,” The Miami Herald, Saturday, January 14, 1989

“Dorothy Hindman’s subtle music and sound effects punctuated and underlined all the changing moods.”
~Eugenia Gingold, “Curtain Calls: The Colony Theater, Papa,” Florida Stage and Screen News, November 10, 1987

“Incidental music by the actor’s daughter, Dorothy E. Hindman, should travel as easily as the script.”
~Jack Zink, “Resident Legit Reviews: Papa,” Variety, Wednesday, November 4, 1987

 “Dorothy Hindman contributed a ruminative Soliloquy for solo viola, played with commitment by Deborah Spring.  The piece was that of a gifted youngster.
~James Roos, “Festival Salutes Prokofiev,” The Miami Herald, October 30, 1987

“Thanks to Philip Church’s astute direction, a haunting score by Dorothy Hindman and Dean Kennedy’s functional yet detailed set, the mood was set for [Bill] Hindman’s tour de force.”
~Jack Sturdy, “Theater review: Papa,” The Weekly News,Volume XI, Number 5, October 7, 1987

“Punctuating various tales, and underscoring the character’s emotional outbreaks, is a haunting incidental music and sound effects score by Dorothy E. Hindman…It’s a nice finishing touch to a consistently interesting drama.”
~Jack Zink, “Hemingway depicted in engrossing ‘Papa’,” Ft. Lauderdale News/Sun Sentinel, Sunday, October 4, 1987

“Church directs PAPA as unobtrusively as a whisper, and is assisted in the subtle mood swings of the play by Dorothy Hindman’s gentle musical effects.”
~Vicki Sanders, “Papa a remarkable reincarnation,” The Miami Herald, Saturday, October 3, 1987