James Avery (musician)
Encyclopedia
James Avery was an American classical pianist and conductor.
He was born in Hutchinson, Kansas
and studied at the University of Kansas, and then at Indiana University (Bloomington) under Tibor Kozma
. From 1967 to 1980 he taught at [University of Iowa (Iowa City)], and from 1980 until 2002 at the Hochschule für Musik Freiburg
in Germany. From 1992 he headed Ensemble SurPlus, playing mostly new music. Avery recorded works by Stefan Wolpe
, Charles Wuorinen
, Brian Ferneyhough
, and Karlheinz Stockhausen
.
In 1992 he formed the contemporary music ensemble SurPlus, which he conducted and in which he performed on the piano. After its debut in Freiburg, Ensemble SurPlus performed at the Darmstädter Ferienkurse and at festivals throughout Europe (Ferneyhough, Schick, Veale, and Mahnkopf 2009, 2).
He was born in Hutchinson, Kansas
Hutchinson, Kansas
Hutchinson is the largest city in and the county seat of Reno County, Kansas, United States, northwest of Wichita, on the Arkansas River. It has been home to salt mines since 1887, thus its nickname of "Salt City", but locals call it "Hutch"...
and studied at the University of Kansas, and then at Indiana University (Bloomington) under Tibor Kozma
Tibor Kozma
Tibor Kozma was an American conductor, pianist, accompanist, and vocal coach of Hungarian birth. He began his career as an opera conductor in Europe and Ecuador before emigrating to the United States in 1941; ultimately becoming a United States citizen in 1945...
. From 1967 to 1980 he taught at [University of Iowa (Iowa City)], and from 1980 until 2002 at the Hochschule für Musik Freiburg
Hochschule für Musik Freiburg
The Staatliche Hochschule für Musik Freiburg is a public music academy subsidized by the State of Baden-Württemberg for academic research and artistic and pedagogical training in music.-History:The Hochschule was initially founded as a municipal institution in 1946 under the direction of Gustav...
in Germany. From 1992 he headed Ensemble SurPlus, playing mostly new music. Avery recorded works by Stefan Wolpe
Stefan Wolpe
Stefan Wolpe was a German-born composer.-Life:Wolpe was born in Berlin. He attended the Klindworth-Scharwenka Conservatory from the age of fourteen, and the Berlin Hochschule für Musik in 1920-1921. He studied composition under Franz Schreker and was also a pupil of Ferruccio Busoni...
, Charles Wuorinen
Charles Wuorinen
Charles Peter Wuorinen is a prolific Pulitzer Prize-winning American composer born and living in New York City. His catalog of more than 250 compositions includes works for orchestra, opera, chamber music, as well as solo instrumental and vocal works...
, Brian Ferneyhough
Brian Ferneyhough
Brian John Peter Ferneyhough is an English composer. His music is characterized by the extensive use of complex rhythmic tuplet notation which features in all his works...
, and Karlheinz Stockhausen
Karlheinz Stockhausen
Karlheinz Stockhausen was a German composer, widely acknowledged by critics as one of the most important but also controversial composers of the 20th and early 21st centuries. Another critic calls him "one of the great visionaries of 20th-century music"...
.
In 1992 he formed the contemporary music ensemble SurPlus, which he conducted and in which he performed on the piano. After its debut in Freiburg, Ensemble SurPlus performed at the Darmstädter Ferienkurse and at festivals throughout Europe (Ferneyhough, Schick, Veale, and Mahnkopf 2009, 2).
Sources
- Ferneyhough, Brian, Steven Schick, Peter Veale, and Claus-Steffen Mahnkopf. 2009. "Tributes to James Avery". (Accessed 26 June 2010)
Links
- Claus-Steffen Mahnkopf. Spiritus rector fürs Unmögliche // Neue Musikzeitung, # 4, 2009.
- Johannes Adam. Ein Amerikaner in Freiburg // Badische Zeitung, 11. März 2009.