Ken Ueno
Encyclopedia
Ken Ueno is an American composer
.
He studied at the United States Military Academy
. He graduated from Berklee College of Music
with a B.M. in Film Scoring/Composition Summa Cum Laude, from Boston University
with a M.M., from Yale School of Music
with a M.M.A., and from Harvard University
with a Ph.D.
He taught at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth
.
He teaches at the University of California, Berkeley
.
He is co-director of Minimum Security Composers Collective.
He has composed orchestral works, for jazz big band and woodwind quintet, and two dance pieces for the Boston Conservatory.
He performed at the Flea, New York City.
Ueno is a recipient of the 2010/2011 Berlin Prize Fellowship from the American Academy in Berlin
.
Ueno has collaborated with violist Kim Kashkashian
and percussionist Robyn Schulkowsky on the works Hypnomelodiamachia for viola, percussion, and electronics (2007), and Two Hands, a Kashkashian commission, for viola and percussion (2009). A monograph compact disc of three works for soloist(s) and orchestra, Talus for viola and orchestra, On a Sufficient Condition for the Existence of Most Specific Hypothesis for solo throat-singer and orchestra, and Kaze-no-Oka for biwa, shakuhachi, and orchestra, was released by the Boston Modern Orchestra Project
in 2010. Ueno has also written for such ensembles as the So Percussion Group, Bang on a Can All-Stars, and eighth blackbird
.
Ueno's compositional approach frequently involves extra-musical modeling, including using images, cultural phenomena, or architecture as the basis for structural decisions, somewhat analogous to the use of architectural proportions in Renaissance music. Kaze-no-Oka, for example, reflects in part the structure of the Japanese architect Fumihiko Maki
's like-named project. His Talus is, in a manner of speaking, a biography of a traumatic event in the life of its soloist, violist Wendy Richman, who broke her ankle in a fall. He is keenly interested in the process of exploring unique, in some sense irreproducible, sonic events linked to the performers for which his music is written.
As a performer, Ueno is active as a throat-singing vocalist and performing with live electronics. He is an accomplished guitarist.
In 2010, he is the recipient of the Berlin Prize in Music Composition at the American Academy in Berlin
.
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...
.
He studied at the United States Military Academy
United States Military Academy
The United States Military Academy at West Point is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located at West Point, New York. The academy sits on scenic high ground overlooking the Hudson River, north of New York City...
. He graduated from Berklee College of Music
Berklee College of Music
Berklee College of Music, located in Boston, Massachusetts, is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known primarily as a school for jazz, rock and popular music, it also offers college-level courses in a wide range of contemporary and historic styles, including hip...
with a B.M. in Film Scoring/Composition Summa Cum Laude, from Boston University
Boston University
Boston University is a private research university located in Boston, Massachusetts. With more than 4,000 faculty members and more than 31,000 students, Boston University is one of the largest private universities in the United States and one of Boston's largest employers...
with a M.M., from Yale School of Music
Yale School of Music
The Yale School of Music is one of the twelve professional schools at Yale University and one of the premier music conservatories in the world....
with a M.M.A., and from Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
with a Ph.D.
He taught at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth
University of Massachusetts Dartmouth
The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth is one of five campuses and operating subdivisions of the University of Massachusetts . It is located in North Dartmouth, Massachusetts, United States, in the center of the South Coast region, between the cities of New Bedford to the east and Fall River...
.
He teaches at the University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
.
He is co-director of Minimum Security Composers Collective.
He has composed orchestral works, for jazz big band and woodwind quintet, and two dance pieces for the Boston Conservatory.
He performed at the Flea, New York City.
Ueno is a recipient of the 2010/2011 Berlin Prize Fellowship from the American Academy in Berlin
American Academy in Berlin
The American Academy in Berlin is a research and cultural institution in Berlin whose stated mission is to foster a greater understanding and dialogue between the people of the United States and the people of Germany.The American Academy was founded in September 1994 by a group of prominent...
.
Ueno has collaborated with violist Kim Kashkashian
Kim Kashkashian
Kim Kashkashian is an Armenian-American violist.-Professional career:Kim Kashkashian studied the viola with Karen Tuttle. She also studied at the Interlochen Center for the Arts. She won the 2nd prize at the 1980 Lionel Tertis International Viola Competition and the 1980 ARD International Music...
and percussionist Robyn Schulkowsky on the works Hypnomelodiamachia for viola, percussion, and electronics (2007), and Two Hands, a Kashkashian commission, for viola and percussion (2009). A monograph compact disc of three works for soloist(s) and orchestra, Talus for viola and orchestra, On a Sufficient Condition for the Existence of Most Specific Hypothesis for solo throat-singer and orchestra, and Kaze-no-Oka for biwa, shakuhachi, and orchestra, was released by the Boston Modern Orchestra Project
Boston Modern Orchestra Project
The Boston Modern Orchestra Project is a full professional orchestra in Boston, Massachusetts, and is widely recognized as the premiere orchestra in the United States dedicated exclusively to commissioning, performing, and recording new music of the 20th and 21st centuries...
in 2010. Ueno has also written for such ensembles as the So Percussion Group, Bang on a Can All-Stars, and eighth blackbird
Eighth blackbird
eighth blackbird is a Grammy Award-winning contemporary music sextet based in Chicago. The group derives its name from the eighth stanza of Wallace Stevens' poem Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird...
.
Ueno's compositional approach frequently involves extra-musical modeling, including using images, cultural phenomena, or architecture as the basis for structural decisions, somewhat analogous to the use of architectural proportions in Renaissance music. Kaze-no-Oka, for example, reflects in part the structure of the Japanese architect Fumihiko Maki
Fumihiko Maki
is a Japanese architect and currently teaching at Keio University SFC.- Biography :After studying at the University of Tokyo he moved to the Cranbrook Academy of Art in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, and then to Harvard Graduate School of Design. In 1956, he took a post as assistant professor of...
's like-named project. His Talus is, in a manner of speaking, a biography of a traumatic event in the life of its soloist, violist Wendy Richman, who broke her ankle in a fall. He is keenly interested in the process of exploring unique, in some sense irreproducible, sonic events linked to the performers for which his music is written.
As a performer, Ueno is active as a throat-singing vocalist and performing with live electronics. He is an accomplished guitarist.
In 2010, he is the recipient of the Berlin Prize in Music Composition at the American Academy in Berlin
American Academy in Berlin
The American Academy in Berlin is a research and cultural institution in Berlin whose stated mission is to foster a greater understanding and dialogue between the people of the United States and the people of Germany.The American Academy was founded in September 1994 by a group of prominent...
.
Awards
- 2010 Berlin PrizeBerlin PrizeThe Berlin Prize is a residential fellowship at the Hans Arnhold Center, awarded by the American Academy in Berlin.- Fellows of the American Academy in Berlin :-References:*http://www.americanacademy.de/home/about-us/hans-arnhold-center/...
- 2007 Rome PrizeRome PrizeThe Rome Prize is an American award made annually by the American Academy in Rome, through a national competition, to 15 emerging artists and to 15 scholars The Rome Prize is an American award made annually by the American Academy in Rome, through a national competition, to 15 emerging artists...
- Fromm Music Foundation grant
- Aaron Copland House grant
- Aaron Copland Fund for Music Recording grant
- National Endowment for the ArtsNational Endowment for the ArtsThe National Endowment for the Arts is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created by an act of the U.S. Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government. Its current...
grant - Belgian-American Education Foundation
- First Prize in the 25th "Luigi Russolo" competition
- Harvard University grant
Discography
- "Ken Ueno: Talus", BMOP/sound, BMOP1014
- "I screamed at the sea until nodes swelled up, then my voice became the resonant noise of the sea", in New Dialects, Centaur CRC 3038, Gregory Oakes, 2009
- "Synchronism Six-Zero", in One Minute More, Transatlantic Foundation for Music and Art B001J54A8S, Guy Livingston, 2008
External links
- Artist's website
- Artist's twitter
- "Careers in Composition: Alumni Interview with Ken Ueno", Berklee College
- "Ken Ueno Interview", Composition Today
- "Ken Ueno (throat singer) and Joan Jeanrenaud (cello) @ BAM/PFA"
- "On a Sufficient Condition for the Existence of Most Specific Hypothesis", University of California, Berkeley, Sounds of the Music Department
- "Spotlight Session: Decoding Ken Ueno", Counterstream Audio
- "Music Now Class performs Ken Ueno's Piece for Pieces of Paper"
- American Academy in Berlin