James Lentini - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

James Lentini is an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

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...

and guitarist

Guitarist

A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...

.

After completing undergraduate studies at Wayne State University

Wayne State University

Wayne State University is a public research university located in Detroit, Michigan, United States, in the city's Midtown Cultural Center Historic District. Founded in 1868, WSU consists of 13 schools and colleges offering more than 400 major subject areas to over 32,000 graduate and...

in guitar performance and composition, he pursued a master‘s degree in composition at Michigan State University

Michigan State University

Michigan State University is a public research university in East Lansing, Michigan, USA. Founded in 1855, it was the pioneer land-grant institution and served as a model for future land-grant colleges in the United States under the 1862 Morrill Act.MSU pioneered the studies of packaging,...

and a doctorate from 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...

, where he studied composition with Robert Linn

Robert Linn (composer)

Robert Linn was an American composer and an educator at the University of Southern California. His notable students there included Morten Lauridsen....

and Morten Lauridsen

Morten Lauridsen

Morten Johannes Lauridsen is an American composer. He was composer-in-residence of the Los Angeles Master Chorale and has been a professor of composition at the University of Southern California Thornton School of Music for more than 30 years.-Biography:Lauridsen was born February 27, 1943, in...

. In addition to composing, Lentini is a guitarist who has studied with William Kanengiser

William Kanengiser

William Kanengiser is a Grammy Award-winning classical guitarist. He is one of the founding members of the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet .Kanengiser holds a Bachelor of Music and Master of Music from the Thornton School of Music at the University of Southern California, where he also serves as a...

, Joe Fava, and Charles Postlewate.

Compositions

His music has been performed by solo artists such as guitarist William Kanengiser

William Kanengiser

and by international ensembles including the Krakow Philharmonic

Kraków Philharmonic

The Kraków Philharmonic or the Cracow Philharmonic , is the primary concert hall in Kraków, Poland, named after the renown Polish composer and pianist Karol Szymanowski. It is the home of the Kraków Philharmonic Orchestra....

(Poland) and the Bohuslav Martinů

Bohuslav Martinu

Bohuslav Martinů was a prolific Czech composer of modern classical music. He was of Czech and Rumanian ancestry. Martinů wrote six symphonies, 15 operas, 14 ballet scores and a large body of orchestral, chamber, vocal and instrumental works. Martinů became a violinist in the Czech Philharmonic...

Orchestra (Czech Republic). In addition to many commissions, his honors include first prize in the 2004 Choral Composition Contest at Bluffton University

Bluffton University

Bluffton University, located in Bluffton, Ohio, United States, is a Christian liberal arts college affiliated with Mennonite Church USA.It was founded in 1899 as Central Mennonite College and became Bluffton College in 1913...

for his composition "Peace I Leave With You," the 2002 Andrés Segovia

Andrés Segovia

Andrés Torres Segovia, 1st Marquis of Salobreña , known as Andrés Segovia, was a virtuoso Spanish classical guitarist from Linares, Jaén, Andalucia, Spain...

International Composition Prize for his solo guitar piece "Westward Voyage," the Atwater-Kent Composition Award (first Prize), the McHugh Composition Prize, a grant from "Meet the Composer

Meet the Composer

Meet the Composer is an American organization founded in 1974 by the composer John Duffy as a project of the New York State Council on the Arts. It seeks to assist composers in making a living through writing music by sponsoring commissioning, residency, education, and audience interaction...

," and several awards from ASCAP. In 2003, Lentini participated as a juror in the Segovia International Guitar Competition in La Herradura, Spain. He has been a Visiting Artist at the American Academy in Rome

American Academy in Rome

The American Academy in Rome is a research and arts institution located on the Gianicolo in Rome.- History :In 1893, a group of American architects, painters and sculptors met regularly while planning the fine arts section of the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition...

, and his work has been featured in new music festivals throughout Europe and the United States. In reviewing the recording "James Lentini, Chamber Music," released on the American Classics series by Naxos Records

Naxos Records

Naxos Records is a record label specializing in classical music. Through a number of imprints, Naxos also releases genres including Chinese music, jazz, world music, and early rock & roll. The company was founded in 1987 by Klaus Heymann, a German-born resident of Hong Kong.Naxos is the largest...

, critic Laurence Vittes, writing in Gramophone Magazine, called Lentini a "...typical classical music success story," and went on to describe Lentini's composition "Scenes from Sedona" by stating that "...the pièce de résistance of the disc may be 'Scenes from Sedona,' perhaps the best piece for viola and cello since Beethoven’s 'Eyeglasses' duet. In 2009, Lentini's suite for solo guitar entitled "The Four Seasons" was published by Mel Bay.

Academic career

From 2003 to 2007, Lentini served as the founding Dean of the School of Art, Media, and Music at The College of New Jersey

The College of New Jersey

The College of New Jersey, abbreviated TCNJ, is a public, coeducational university located in Ewing Township, New Jersey, a suburb of Trenton....

. Previously, Lentini held the position of Professor of Composition at Wayne State University from 1988 to 2003, where he also served as Acting Chair and Associate Chair of the Department of Music. In 2007, Lentini accepted the appointment of Dean of the School of Fine Arts at Miami University

Miami University

Miami University is a coeducational public research university located in Oxford, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1809, it is the 10th oldest public university in the United States and the second oldest university in Ohio, founded four years after Ohio University. In its 2012 edition, U.S...

in Oxford, Ohio, overseeing the Departments of Music, Art, Theatre, and Architecture/Interior Design, in addition to the Performing Arts Series and the University Museum. He is a recognized arts advocate through his efforts to promote the importance of the arts in education.

Publications and recordings

His works are published by MMB Music, Editorial de Musica Española Contemporanea, Acoma Editions, and the Society of Composers, Inc., and recorded on the Naxos, Capstone, MMC, and CRS recording labels.

External links

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