Donald Reid Womack

Donald Reid Womack (born March 18, 1966) is a composer of contemporary classical music. He was born in Virginia, raised in East Tennessee and studied at Furman University and Northwestern University, receiving degrees in philosophy, music theory, and music composition.

His catalog contains more than 70 works for orchestra, chamber ensembles, solo instruments, and voice. Major works include a concerto for shakuhachi, 21-string koto and orchestra (After), a violin concerto (In questi tempi di Conflitto), a symphony (Southern Portraits), a concerto for marimba and chamber orchestra (Out of the Blues), and a suite for large chamber ensemble of Japanese instruments (Strange Places to Be). His music is published by C.F. Peters and Dorn Publications and recorded on Albany, Equilibrium, Tokyo CMC, and MMC.

Womack's influences span a broad range of sources, including the new tonality, post-minimalism, rock, jazz, and especially Asian instruments. He spent a year in Tokyo, Japan working with performers of Japanese, Chinese, and Mongolian instruments, and has created approximately 15 works for various combinations of these instruments. Among them are strung out (violin and koto), Bend (shakuhachi, shamisen and 21-string koto), Line Drive (pipa, shakuhachi and 21-string koto), and Koto Coloring Book (21-string koto).

His music has been described as "original, creative and ingenious" (Shimbun Akahata),^[1] "powerful and impressively crafted"[1] and "eclectic but also distinctive" (Honolulu Star-Bulletin)[2], "raw energy alternating with a brooding potentiality" (Honolulu Advertiser),^[2] "wonderfully mellow and sprightly in its metrical incisiveness" (Buffalo NY Daily News),^[3] and "capable of providing stimulus for a new century" (Neue Musikzeitung).^[4]

Womack’s works have been performed across the U.S., as well as in many countries in Europe, Asia, Oceania, and South America by such ensembles as the Louisville Orchestra, Honolulu Symphony, Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble, AURA-J, Asia Ensemble and the Salzburg Mozarteum String Quartet. Among his awards are a Fulbright Senior Researcher Grant, First Prize in the Sigma Alpha Iota Inter-American Music Awards, and two Individual Artist Fellowships from the Hawaii State Foundation on Culture and the Arts.

Since 1994 Womack has resided in Honolulu, Hawaii, where he is a professor of music composition and theory at the University of Hawaii.[3]

References

1. ^ Akio Miyazawa, November 18, 2004, Shimbun Akahata
2. ^ Gregory Shephard, "Pianist's brilliance shines through Rachmaninov Third", January 6, 1998, Honolulu Advertiser
3. ^ Thomas Putnam, "June in Buffalo festival takes a traditional turn", Buffalo Daily News, June 6, 1996
4. ^ Hans-Theodor Wohlfahrt, "Ein neues Darmstadt für die Neue Welt", Neue Musikzeitung, August/September 1996

• Honolulu Star-Bulletin, March 30, 2003 (retrieved December 7, 2008)
• Honolulu Star-Bulletin, May 24, 2001 (retrieved December 7, 2008)
• Donald Reid Womack profile at the University of Hawaii (retrieved December 7, 2008)

External links

• Official website
• University of Hawaii-Manoa Music Department

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Name	Womack, Donald Reid
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Date of birth	March 18, 1966
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