Dean Drummond
Encyclopedia
Dean Drummond is an American composer
, conductor and musician. His music utilises microtonality, electronics
, and a huge variety of percussion. He invented a 31-tone instrument called the zoomoozophone in 1978.
, he studied trumpet
and composition
at the University of Southern California
and California Institute of the Arts
, going on to work for Harry Partch
. In 1976, he moved to New York
, where, in 1977, he was one of the founders of Newband
. In 1990, he became director and curator of the Harry Partch Instrumentarium. He has performed on many of the Partch instruments (kithara
, surrogate kithara, harmonic canons, adapted guitar) and his zoomoozophone, and given many educational workshops. He was a director of the New York Consortium for New Music for over ten years, and was involved in producing the annual Sonic Boom Festival. He is now Associate Professor and Director of the Harry Partch Institute at Montclair State University
, New Jersey
.
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
, conductor and musician. His music utilises microtonality, electronics
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
, and a huge variety of percussion. He invented a 31-tone instrument called the zoomoozophone in 1978.
Biography
Born in Los AngelesLos Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, he studied trumpet
Trumpet
The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
and composition
Musical composition
Musical composition can refer to an original piece of music, the structure of a musical piece, or the process of creating a new piece of music. People who practice composition are called composers.- Musical compositions :...
at the University of Southern California
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
and California Institute of the Arts
California Institute of the Arts
The California Institute of the Arts, commonly referred to as CalArts, is located in Valencia, in Los Angeles County, California. It was incorporated in 1961 as the first degree-granting institution of higher learning in the United States created specifically for students of both the visual and the...
, going on to work for Harry Partch
Harry Partch
Harry Partch was an American composer and instrument creator. He was one of the first twentieth-century composers to work extensively and systematically with microtonal scales, writing much of his music for custom-made instruments that he built himself, tuned in 11-limit just intonation.-Early...
. In 1976, he moved to New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, where, in 1977, he was one of the founders of Newband
Newband
Newband is a contemporary music ensemble devoted to the performance of microtonal music. The group was founded in 1977 by musicians Stefani Starin and Dean Drummond...
. In 1990, he became director and curator of the Harry Partch Instrumentarium. He has performed on many of the Partch instruments (kithara
Kithara
The kithara or cithara was an ancient Greek musical instrument in the lyre or lyra family. In modern Greek the word kithara has come to mean "guitar" ....
, surrogate kithara, harmonic canons, adapted guitar) and his zoomoozophone, and given many educational workshops. He was a director of the New York Consortium for New Music for over ten years, and was involved in producing the annual Sonic Boom Festival. He is now Associate Professor and Director of the Harry Partch Institute at Montclair State University
Montclair State University
Montclair State University is a public research university located in the Upper Montclair section of Montclair, the Great Notch area of Little Falls, and Clifton, New Jersey. As of October 2009, there were 18,171 total enrolled students: 14,139 undergraduate students and 4,032 graduate students...
, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
.
Solo instrumental
- SuiteSuiteIn music, a suite is an ordered set of instrumental or orchestral pieces normally performed in a concert setting rather than as accompaniment; they may be extracts from an opera, ballet , or incidental music to a play or film , or they may be entirely original movements .In the...
for Clarinet (1970) - clarinet - Organ ToccataToccataToccata is a virtuoso piece of music typically for a keyboard or plucked string instrument featuring fast-moving, lightly fingered or otherwise virtuosic passages or sections, with or without imitative or fugal interludes, generally emphasizing the dexterity of the performer's fingers...
(1971) - pipe organPipe organThe pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurized air through pipes selected via a keyboard. Because each organ pipe produces a single pitch, the pipes are provided in sets called ranks, each of which has a common timbre and volume throughout the keyboard compass... - Cloud Garden II (1974) - pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
/celesteCelestaThe celesta or celeste is a struck idiophone operated by a keyboard. Its appearance is similar to that of an upright piano or of a large wooden music box . The keys are connected to hammers which strike a graduated set of metal plates suspended over wooden resonators...
/Cowbell (instrument)almglocken - Post Rigabop Mix (1977) - fluteFluteThe flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
- Copégoro (1978) - percussion
- Columbus Fullmoon (1979/1985) - zoomoozophone
- Different Drums for Different Strokes (1988) - percussion
- Mars Face (1997) - violinViolinThe violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
and microtonally programmed synthesizerSynthesizerA synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones... - Four Miniatures (1997): Syncopation in Glass and Talking Bowls - cloud chamber bowls; Bow, Chords and Zoom and Three Dream Fragments - zoomoozophone duet
- Two Short Zoomoozophone Duos (1997)
- Two Short Solos for Cloud Chamber Bowls (1997)
- Precious Metals (1997) - flute
Vocal compositions
- Bertrans de Born (1971) - bass-baritoneBass-baritoneA bass-baritone is a high-lying bass or low-lying "classical" baritone voice type which shares certain qualities with the true baritone voice. The term arose in the late 19th century to describe the particular type of voice required to sing three Wagnerian roles: the Dutchman in Der fliegende...
, flute, clarinet, bass clarinetBass clarinetThe bass clarinet is a musical instrument of the clarinet family. Like the more common soprano B clarinet, it is usually pitched in B , but it plays notes an octave below the soprano B clarinet...
, bassoonBassoonThe bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed family that typically plays music written in the bass and tenor registers, and occasionally higher. Appearing in its modern form in the 19th century, the bassoon figures prominently in orchestral, concert band and chamber music literature...
, French horn, pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
/celesteCelestaThe celesta or celeste is a struck idiophone operated by a keyboard. Its appearance is similar to that of an upright piano or of a large wooden music box . The keys are connected to hammers which strike a graduated set of metal plates suspended over wooden resonators...
, string quartetString quartetA string quartet is a musical ensemble of four string players – usually two violin players, a violist and a cellist – or a piece written to be performed by such a group...
, double bassDouble bassThe double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2... - My Data's Gone (1997) - bass and microtonally programmed synthesizer - lyrics by Charles Bernstein
- It Must Be Time (1997) - soprano and microtonally programmed synthesizer - lyrics by Charles Bernstein
- Congressional Record (1999) - baritone and eight instrumentalists - texts from the Congressional RecordCongressional RecordThe Congressional Record is the official record of the proceedings and debates of the United States Congress. It is published by the United States Government Printing Office, and is issued daily when the United States Congress is in session. Indexes are issued approximately every two weeks...
- Café Buffé (2006) - operaOperaOpera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
- five singers, dancers, and eighteen instrumentalists - libretto by Charles BernsteinCharles BernsteinCharles Bernstein is an American poet, theorist, editor, and literary scholar. Bernstein holds the Donald T. Regan Chair in the Department of English at the University of Pennsylvania. He is one of the most prominent members of the Language poets . In 2006 he was elected a Fellow of the American...
Works for multiple instrumentalists
- Ni Kioku (1971) - flute, celeste, harp, violin, cello, two percussionists
- Dedication (1972) - oboe, harp, string quartet, double bass, three percussionists
- Fission (1972) - flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, horn, trumpet, trombone, harp, vibraphone, violin, viola, cello
- Ghost Tangents (1973/1975) - prepared pianoPrepared pianoA prepared piano is a piano that has had its sound altered by placing objects between or on the strings or on the hammers or dampers....
, three percussionists - Cloud Garden I (1974/9) - flute, piano, four percussionists
- Zurrjir (1976) - flute, clarinet, piano/celeste, three percussionists
- Dirty Ferdie (Quartet Version) (1976) - four percussionists
- Little Columbus (1979) (Part 1 of Columbus) (1980) - two percussionists
- Columbus (1980) - flute, three percussionists
- Dirty Ferdie (Octet Version) (1981) - eight percussionists
- Mysteries (Octet Version) (1982/6) - flute, violin, cello, five percussionists
- Mysteries (Quintet Version) (1983) - five percussionists
- Mysteries (Septet Version) (1983) - flute, bass trombone, five percussionists
- Then or Never (1984) - flute, viola, double bass, three percussionists
- Ruby Half Moon (1987) - 2 trumpets, trombone, bass trombone, four percussionists
- Incredible Time (to live and die) (1988) - amplified flute, microtonally programmed synthesizer, three percussionists
- Dance of the Seven Veils (1992) - flute, cello, chromelodeon, microtonally programmed synthesizer, three percussionists
- The Day the Sun Stood Still (1994) - flute, trumpet, cello, microtonally programmed synthesizer, harmonic canons, four percussionists
- Before the Last Laugh (1995) - flute, cello, microtonally programmed synthesizer, three harmonic canons, two percussionists
- The Last Laugh (Der Letzte Mann) (1996) - live film score for the 1924 silent filmSilent filmA silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, pantomime and title cards...
by F.W. Murnau - flutes, cello, trumpet, chromelodeon, microtonally programmed synthesizer, four harmonic canons, four percussionists - For the Last Laugh (1998) - suite from the film score - flutes, cello, trumpet, chromelodeon, microtonally programmed synthesizer, four harmonic canons, four percussionists
- M.S. Genitron (2001) - ten percussionists
- Phil Harmonic (2002) - 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, alto saxophone, 2 horns, 2 trumpets, 2 trombones, chromelodeon, zoomoozophone, timpani, percussion, strings
Films
- 1995 - Musical Outsiders: An American Legacy - Harry Partch, Lou Harrison, and Terry Riley. Directed by Michael Blackwood.
External links
- http://www.deandrummond.com/