Derek Bermel

Derek Bermel

Derek Bermel (b. New York 1967) is an American composer, clarinetist and conductor whose music blends various facets of world music, funk and jazz with largely classical performing forces and musical vocabulary. He is the recipient of various awards including a Guggenheim Fellowship[1] and the prestigious Rome Prize awarded to American artists for a year-long residency in Rome, Italy (Note: This award is given by the American Academy in Rome and has nothing to do with the Prix de Rome awarded by the Paris Conservatoire to its student composers.)[2].

Contents

Life

Bermel earned his B.A. at Yale University and later studied at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor with William Bolcom and William Albright[3]. He also studied with Louis Andriessen in Amsterdam and Henri Dutilleux at Tanglewood. Later, his interest in a wide range of musical cultures sent him to Jerusalem to study ethnomusicology with André Hajdu, Bulgaria to investigate Thracian folk style with Nikola Iliev, Brazil to learn caxixi with Julio Góes, and to Ghana to study Lobi xylophone with Ngmen Baaru.[4].


Bermel's output includes pieces for a variety of performing forces, including solo vocal songs, pieces for large and small chamber ensembles, and fourteen orchestral works [5]. Though the ensembles he writes for are largely classical, his voice as a composer has been heavily influenced by both his travels and his education in Western art and popular music. His orchestral work A shout, a whisper, and a trace is a good example of this interplay, as it draws on Bermel's knowledge of the Thracian folk style and the work of fellow ethnomusicologist and classical composer Béla Bartók. Moreover, the piece engages directly with the experience of living in an unfamiliar culture, drawing on Bartók's letters home from New York during the last five years of his life.[6]. He first came into the national spotlight with works like Natural Selection, a series of animal portraits for baritone and ensemble, and Voices, a concerto for clarinet and orchestra which he wrote for himself to perform. The piece was premiered by the American Composers Orchestra under the baton of the composer/conductor Tan Dun and has since been performed by many other ensembles and conductors, including the Los Angeles Philharmonic under the baton of composer/conductor John Adams. Other important works include his "Migration Series," a piece for jazz band and orchestra that draws on impressions of Jacob Lawrence's set of 60 paintings by the same name depicting the mass movement of African-Americans from the South to the North at the beginning of the 20th century[7], and "Soul Garden," a viola solo accompanied by string quintet that utilizes quarter-tones and slides to emulate the vocal effects of a gospel singer.[8][9]. "Soul Garden" in particular reflects what Richard Scheinen, jazz writer for the San Jose Mercury News, has called Bermel's preoccupation with "the human voice--or more generally, language and the yearning the communicate."[10]. This artistic concern is equally evident in lighter pieces such as "Language Instruction," a humorous work for clarinet, viola, cello, and piano in which the clarinet plays the role of the voice on a language tape and the other three instruments students with various degrees of aptitude for the task at hand.[11].


Bermel is also an accomplished clarinetist and plays both classical repertoire and rock and funk, performing with groups such as his own TONK. He also sings and plays keyboards and caxixi in the rock band Peace by Piece.[12]. He has premiered and performed numerous pieces with large orchestras, including his own concerto Voices and John Adams Gnarly Buttons with the composer at the podium.[13].


Besides his work as a composer and performer, Bermel is active as a teacher. He founded and served as director of the New York Youth Symphony's Making Score workshop for young composers. The workshop meets twice a month at the ASCAP to study orchestration and composition. The group and has heard from guest lecturers such as Meredith Monk, Steve Reich, and John Corigliano and had pieces read by ensembles such as the American Composers Orchestra.[14]. More recently, he has mentored both young composers and conductors at Carnegie Hall through the Weill Music Institute.[15]. Bermel also conducts masterclasses at universities and music festivals such as the University of Michigan, University of Chicago, Yale University, Peabody School of Music, Bowdoin, Tanglewood, and Aspen.[16].

Bermel's music is published by Peer Music Classical in the United States and is distributed in Europe, Australia and New Zealand by Faber Music.[17].

Bermel began a three-year residency with the American Composers Orchestra in Fall of 2006 and currently serves on the ACO board.[18]. In 2009 Bermel began his three year tenure as composer-in-residence with the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra[19] as well as his position as artist-in-residence at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey, where he currently lives and works.[20].

Music

Chamber Works

Large chamber ensemble:

  • Canzonas Americanas (2010)
  • Swing Song (2009)
  • In Tangle (2005)
  • Three Rivers (2001)
  • Continental Divide (1996)
  • Hot Zone (1995)

Small chamber ensemble:

  • Passing Through (2007), string quartet
  • Twin Trio (2005), flute, clarinet, and piano
  • Tied Shifts (2004), flute, clarinet, violin, cello, piano, and percussion
  • Language Instruction (2003), clarinet, violin, cello, and piano
  • Catcalls (2003), brass quintet
  • Soul Garden (2000), viola + 2 violins, viola, 2 cellos
  • Coming Together (1999), clarinet and cello
  • God's Trombones (1998), 3 trombones and percussion
  • Oct Up (1995), double string quartet
  • Wanderings (1994), flute, oboe, clarinet, horn, and bassoon
  • SchiZm (1994), clarinet/oboe and piano
  • String Quartet (1992), string quartet
  • Mulatash Stomp (1991), violin, clarinet, and piano
  • Sonata Humana (1991), clarinet and piano

Orchestral Works

  • A Shout, A Whisper, and a Trace (2009)
  • Elixir (2006)
  • Migration Series (2006)
  • Slides (2003)
  • Tag Rag (2003)
  • The Ends (2002)
  • Thracian Echoes (2002)
  • Dust Dances (1994)

With a solo instrument or voice:

  • Mar de Setembro (2011), mezzo-soprano and chamber orchestra
  • Ritornello (2011), electric guitar concerto
  • The Good Life (2008), soprano, baritone, choir, and orchestra
  • Turning Variations (2006), piano concerto
  • The Sting (2001-2) - (narr, orch)
  • Voices (1997), clarinet concerto

Symphonic Band

  • Ides March (2005)

Choral Works

  • A Child's War (2005)
  • Kpanlongo (1993)
  • Pete Pete (1993)

Songs

Solo voice:

  • Nature Calls (1999), medium voice and piano
  • Cabaret Songs(1998), soprano and piano
  • See How She Moves (1997), solo medium voice
  • Three Songs on Poems by Wendy S. Walters (1993), medium voice and piano

With ensemble:

  • Cabaret Songs (2007), soprano, clarinet, percussion, double bass, dobro, and guitar
  • Natural Selection (2000), low voice and ensemble
  • At the End of the World (2000), high voice and orchestra
  • Old Songs for a New Man (1997), baritone soloist and trumpet, trombone, piano, percussion, violin, double bass

Solo Instrument

  • Fetch (2004), piano
  • Funk Studies (2004), piano
  • Kontraphunktus (2004), piano
  • Thracian Sketches (2003), clarinet
  • Meditation (1997), piano
  • Turning (1995), piano
  • Two Songs from Nandom (1993), organ
  • Theme and Absurdities (1993), clarinet
  • Dodecaphunk (1992), piano
  • Three Funk Studies (1991), piano

References

  1. ^ John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation fellow list [1]
  2. ^ Van Cliburn Foundation composer profile [2]
  3. ^ University of Michigan list of recipients of Paul Boylan alumni award [3]
  4. ^ Derek Bermel website bio [4]
  5. ^ Peermusic catalogue [http://www.peermusicclassical.com/catalog/catalogmain.cfm?composer_ID=1347&search=y}
  6. ^ Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra program notes [5]
  7. ^ American Composers Orchestra Music Alive commission program notes [6]
  8. ^ Peer Music reviews [7]
  9. ^ Sequenza 21 CD review [8]
  10. ^ Richard Scheinen's description of Bermel's music, Peer Music [9]
  11. ^ Vivien Schweiter, New York Times concert review [10]
  12. ^ Peace by Piece profile [11]
  13. ^ "John Adams's "Gnarly Buttons": Issues of History, Performance, and Style," a thesis dissertation by Anthony Gordon Taylor [12]
  14. ^ New York Youth Symphony program information [13]
  15. ^ Carnegie Hall Weill Institute news bulletin [14]
  16. ^ Bowdoin Internation Music Festival instructor info [15]
  17. ^ Peer Music composer bio and information [16]
  18. ^ New York Times profile [17]
  19. ^ LACO artist information [18]
  20. ^ Institute for Advanced Study press release announcing Bermel's appointment [19]

External links


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Derek — Gender Male Origin Word/Name Old German English Meaning Old German for Theodoric Other names Related names …   Wikipedia

  • Missouri Chamber Music Festival — The Missouri Chamber Music Festival and PRO AM was founded in 2010. The goal of the MOCM festival is to present the fine art of small ensemble music to a wide audience through an accessible, community based festival. The PRO AM workshop portion… …   Wikipedia

  • 52-я церемония «Грэмми» — Дата проведения 31 января 2010 Место проведения Стэйплс центр, Лос Анджелес, Калифорния Трансляция в США Телеканал CBS  < 51 я Грэмми …   Википедия

  • Grammy Awards 2010 — Am 31. Januar 2010 wurden im Staples Center von Los Angeles die Grammy Awards 2010 verliehen. Es war die 52. Verleihung des Grammys, des wichtigsten US amerikanischen Musikpreises. Gewürdigt wurden Anfang 2010 die musikalischen Leistungen, die… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • List of 21st century classical composers by name — See also List of 21st century classical composers by birth date and List of 21st century classical composers by death date.Composers of 21st century classical music include:A*Keiko Abe (born 1937) *Muhal Richard Abrams (born 1930) *Juan Manuel… …   Wikipedia

  • Rhode Island School of Design — infobox University name= Rhode Island School of Design motto= endowment= $380 million [cite news | last = | first = | coauthors = | title =College and University Endowments Over $250 Million, 2007 | work =Chronicle of Higher Education | pages =28 …   Wikipedia

  • Henri Dutilleux — For the French painter Henri Joseph Constant Dutilleux, see Constant Dutilleux. Henri Dutilleux (born 22 January 1916 in Angers, Maine et Loire) is one of the most important French composers of the second half of the 20th century, producing work… …   Wikipedia

  • Michael Daugherty — Michael Kevin Daugherty (born April 28, 1954) is an American composer, pianist, and teacher. Influenced by popular culture, Romanticism, and Postmodernism, Daugherty is one of the most colorful and widely performed American concert music… …   Wikipedia

  • List of Guggenheim Fellowships awarded in 1999 — U.S. and Canadian Fellows= * Chris Aiken, Choreographer and Dancer, Minneapolis; Teaching Specialist in Theatre Arts and Dance, University of Minnesota: Choreography. * Jonathan Ames, Writer, New York City: Fiction. * Barbara Watson Andaya,… …   Wikipedia

  • Eighth Blackbird — is a Grammy Award winning contemporary music sextet founded in 1996. The group derives its name from the Wallace Stevens poem Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird. The ensemble deliberately spells their name in lower case. The members of… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”