John Solum
Encyclopedia
John Solum is an award-winning musician, author, educator, and advocate for the arts.
in 1935, he started taking music lessons at the age of five. He began playing the flute professionally at age 17 while still in high school in Minneapolis, including recording with the Minneapolis Symphony for Mercury Records. As an undergraduate at Princeton University, he continued playing the flute professionally, at the same time studying flute privately with the eminent flutist, William Kincaid, in Philadelphia. Kincaid, who taught at the Curtis Institute of Music
in Philadelphia, offered him admittance to Curtis. However, he opted to remain at Princeton, where he studied harmony and counterpoint with Elliot Forbes and Edward T. Cone and music history with Arthur Mendel. Upon graduation in 1957, Solum appeared as soloist with the Philadelphia Orchestra
under Eugene Ormandy
as a winner of the orchestra's youth competition.
in 1958, Solum launched an international solo and chamber music career which has taken him to 37 countries in North and South America, Europe, the Near East, Far East, Australia and New Zealand. His countless concert appearances include recitals at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in London, the Frick Collection in New York, and the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. In 1962 he was the first flutist to be soloist at the newly-inaugurated Lincoln Center in New York. He performed at the White House in Washington in 1970 for a presidential state dinner honoring the prime minister of Great Britain. In 1973 he toured the United States, Bermuda and Canada under Columbia Artists Management as guest soloist with the English Sinfonia. In 1983 he became the first American flutist to give recitals in the Soviet Union. He has been featured at music festivals throughout the world, including Mostly Mozart at Lincoln Center, Vermont Mozart, Oregon Bach, Aston Magna, Music Mountain, Montreux, Haslemere, and the Menuhin Festival in Gstaad, Switzerland. With chamber music groups he has appeared at the festivals of Edinburgh, Bordeaux, Strasbourg, Flanders, Prague Spring, Lucerne, Dubrovnik, Helsinki, Versailles, Llandaff, Caramoor, and the Cervantes Festival in Mexico. Among the many distinguished musicians who have performed with him are the singers Gerard Souzay, Roberta Peters, Bethany Beardslee and Arlene Auger, and the instrumentalists Henryk Szeryng, Nicanor Zabaleta, Elaine Shaffer, Ann Schein, Robert Helps, Ralph Kirkpatrick, Albert Fuller and Igor Kipnis.
For many years Solum has been an influential figure in the early music movement. He was co-founder of the Connecticut Early Music Festival, serving as artistic director for 17 years. In England he founded the Bath Summer School of Baroque Music, which he directed for ten years. He has edited many editions of music for Oxford University Press, the publishers of his book, The Early Flute.
Solum is a recording artist. His discography includes over 100 works for flute and reflects his interest in both modern and historical instruments. On historical flutes his solo recordings include the Mozart Flute Concertos (EMI) and the Bach Flute Sonatas (Arabesque). On modern flute his recordings for EMI include the concertos of Ibert, Jolivet, Honegger and, with the Philharmonia Orchestra, the two Malcolm Arnold Flute Concertos as well as an album of six Romantic works for solo flute and orchestra. In 2001 he began making a series of recordings for MSR Classics with the Hanoverian Ensemble, a period-instrument group. In 2007 he collaborated with Vanessa, Lynn and Corin Redgrave on a benefit recording for Broadway Cares and The Actors Fund.
More than 20 composers have written works for him, including Jack Beeson, John Eaton, Roger Goeb, Viktor Kalabis, Ulysses Kay, Leo Kraft, Meyer Kupferman, Ezra Laderman, Otto Luening, David Macbride, Lionel Nowak and Richard Wilson. Aaron Copland wrote his "Duo for Flute and Piano" in response to Solum's request to compose a work in memory of William Kincaid.
He has served on review panels for the National Endowment for the Arts and the New Hampshire Arts Council. For six years he was treasurer of the National Flute Association and is a past president of the New York Flute Club. He has been a visiting professor at Oberlin College Conservatory of Music, at Indiana University, and a lecturer at Vassar College
.
In addition to his activities related to music, Solum has had a life-long interest in the visual arts. In 1994 he began championing the work of the pioneering American modernist artist, James Daugherty (1887–1974). Solum's initiatives have led to special exhibitions of Daugherty's art, lectures, television documentaries, articles, and the recovery and restoration of ten of his large-scale murals, including four in Cleveland's State Theater at Playhouse Square and six New Deal
murals in Greenwich, Stamford, and Darien, Connecticut.
Solum's honors include the Distinguished Service Award from the National Flute Association and the Distinguished Advocates Award from the Connecticut Commission on Culture and Tourism.
Early life
Born in WisconsinWisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
in 1935, he started taking music lessons at the age of five. He began playing the flute professionally at age 17 while still in high school in Minneapolis, including recording with the Minneapolis Symphony for Mercury Records. As an undergraduate at Princeton University, he continued playing the flute professionally, at the same time studying flute privately with the eminent flutist, William Kincaid, in Philadelphia. Kincaid, who taught at the Curtis Institute of Music
Curtis Institute of Music
The Curtis Institute of Music is a conservatory in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, that offers courses of study leading to a performance Diploma, Bachelor of Music, Master of Music in Opera, and Professional Studies Certificate in Opera. According to statistics compiled by U.S...
in Philadelphia, offered him admittance to Curtis. However, he opted to remain at Princeton, where he studied harmony and counterpoint with Elliot Forbes and Edward T. Cone and music history with Arthur Mendel. Upon graduation in 1957, Solum appeared as soloist with the Philadelphia Orchestra
Philadelphia Orchestra
The Philadelphia Orchestra is a symphony orchestra based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States. One of the "Big Five" American orchestras, it was founded in 1900...
under Eugene Ormandy
Eugene Ormandy
Eugene Ormandy was a Hungarian-born conductor and violinist.-Early life:Born Jenő Blau in Budapest, Hungary, Ormandy began studying violin at the Royal National Hungarian Academy of Music at the age of five...
as a winner of the orchestra's youth competition.
Professional career
Settling in New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
in 1958, Solum launched an international solo and chamber music career which has taken him to 37 countries in North and South America, Europe, the Near East, Far East, Australia and New Zealand. His countless concert appearances include recitals at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in London, the Frick Collection in New York, and the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. In 1962 he was the first flutist to be soloist at the newly-inaugurated Lincoln Center in New York. He performed at the White House in Washington in 1970 for a presidential state dinner honoring the prime minister of Great Britain. In 1973 he toured the United States, Bermuda and Canada under Columbia Artists Management as guest soloist with the English Sinfonia. In 1983 he became the first American flutist to give recitals in the Soviet Union. He has been featured at music festivals throughout the world, including Mostly Mozart at Lincoln Center, Vermont Mozart, Oregon Bach, Aston Magna, Music Mountain, Montreux, Haslemere, and the Menuhin Festival in Gstaad, Switzerland. With chamber music groups he has appeared at the festivals of Edinburgh, Bordeaux, Strasbourg, Flanders, Prague Spring, Lucerne, Dubrovnik, Helsinki, Versailles, Llandaff, Caramoor, and the Cervantes Festival in Mexico. Among the many distinguished musicians who have performed with him are the singers Gerard Souzay, Roberta Peters, Bethany Beardslee and Arlene Auger, and the instrumentalists Henryk Szeryng, Nicanor Zabaleta, Elaine Shaffer, Ann Schein, Robert Helps, Ralph Kirkpatrick, Albert Fuller and Igor Kipnis.
For many years Solum has been an influential figure in the early music movement. He was co-founder of the Connecticut Early Music Festival, serving as artistic director for 17 years. In England he founded the Bath Summer School of Baroque Music, which he directed for ten years. He has edited many editions of music for Oxford University Press, the publishers of his book, The Early Flute.
Solum is a recording artist. His discography includes over 100 works for flute and reflects his interest in both modern and historical instruments. On historical flutes his solo recordings include the Mozart Flute Concertos (EMI) and the Bach Flute Sonatas (Arabesque). On modern flute his recordings for EMI include the concertos of Ibert, Jolivet, Honegger and, with the Philharmonia Orchestra, the two Malcolm Arnold Flute Concertos as well as an album of six Romantic works for solo flute and orchestra. In 2001 he began making a series of recordings for MSR Classics with the Hanoverian Ensemble, a period-instrument group. In 2007 he collaborated with Vanessa, Lynn and Corin Redgrave on a benefit recording for Broadway Cares and The Actors Fund.
More than 20 composers have written works for him, including Jack Beeson, John Eaton, Roger Goeb, Viktor Kalabis, Ulysses Kay, Leo Kraft, Meyer Kupferman, Ezra Laderman, Otto Luening, David Macbride, Lionel Nowak and Richard Wilson. Aaron Copland wrote his "Duo for Flute and Piano" in response to Solum's request to compose a work in memory of William Kincaid.
He has served on review panels for the National Endowment for the Arts and the New Hampshire Arts Council. For six years he was treasurer of the National Flute Association and is a past president of the New York Flute Club. He has been a visiting professor at Oberlin College Conservatory of Music, at Indiana University, and a lecturer at Vassar College
Vassar College
Vassar College is a private, coeducational liberal arts college in the town of Poughkeepsie, New York, in the United States. The Vassar campus comprises over and more than 100 buildings, including four National Historic Landmarks, ranging in style from Collegiate Gothic to International,...
.
In addition to his activities related to music, Solum has had a life-long interest in the visual arts. In 1994 he began championing the work of the pioneering American modernist artist, James Daugherty (1887–1974). Solum's initiatives have led to special exhibitions of Daugherty's art, lectures, television documentaries, articles, and the recovery and restoration of ten of his large-scale murals, including four in Cleveland's State Theater at Playhouse Square and six New Deal
New Deal
The New Deal was a series of economic programs implemented in the United States between 1933 and 1936. They were passed by the U.S. Congress during the first term of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The programs were Roosevelt's responses to the Great Depression, and focused on what historians call...
murals in Greenwich, Stamford, and Darien, Connecticut.
Solum's honors include the Distinguished Service Award from the National Flute Association and the Distinguished Advocates Award from the Connecticut Commission on Culture and Tourism.
External links
- John Solum at the Vassar College Department of Music