Kenneth Fuchs
Encyclopedia
Kenneth Fuchs is an American composer
, conductor
, and educator. He currently serves as Professor of Music Composition at the University of Connecticut
(Storrs).
Fuchs has composed music for orchestra, band, chorus, and various chamber ensembles. With Pulitzer Prize
-winning playwright Lanford Wilson
, he created three chamber musicals, The Great Nebula in Orion, A Betrothal, and Brontosaurus, which were originally presented by Circle Repertory Company
in New York City. His music is regularly performed in the United States, Europe, China, and Japan.
The London Symphony Orchestra
, under the baton of JoAnn Falletta
, has recorded three discs of Fuchs’s music. The first, released by Naxos Records
in August 2005, was nominated for two Grammy Awards. The second disc, which features music for horn, was released by Naxos in January 2008. Following the release of this disc, Musicweb International stated in February 2008, “Fuchs's distinctive voice is evident from the outset, and his flair for orchestral colours and sheer lyricism shine through.” The third disc, recorded in August 2011 at London's historic Abbey Road Studios, will be released by Naxos in August 2012.
The Adrian Symphony Orchestra in Michigan appointed Fuchs as composer in residence for the 2009-10 seasons. In collaboration with music director John Thomas Dodson, the residency included world premiere performances of five works. The residency concluded with the premiere of Divinum Mysterium (concerto for viola and orchestra) on April 10, 2010. The concerto was composed especially for London Symphony Orchestra principal Paul Silverthorne, who performed the premiere in Adrian. Silverthorne recorded the work with the LSO for Fuchs's third Naxos disc on August 19, 2011.
In 2008, the United States Air Force Academy Band (Colorado Springs) commissioned Fuchs’s work for band United Artists. Following performances on tour throughout the U.S., the band recorded the work for inclusion on their new disc Windscapes, which was released in December 2009. The work was simultaneously published and released by the Hal Leonard Corporation, the world’s largest music print publisher. Since its release the work has been played by high school and college bands throughout the United States and in China. In September 2011, Hal Leonard published Fuchs's newest work for band Discover the Wild.
Fuchs was selected by Marin Alsop
as one of ten composers in residence for the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music in August 2007. Alsop conducted the world premiere of the original orchestral version of Fuchs's work United Artists, following which critic Jason Victor Serinus wrote in the American Record Guide
, "the work's dramatic, resounding chords and gloriously ringing flourishes constitute a modern fanfare of sorts."
The highly successful disc Kenneth Fuchs: String Quartets 2, 3, 4 performed by the American String Quartet was released by Albany Records
in 2001. Following the release of this disc, the American Record Guide
stated quite simply, “String quartet recordings don’t get much better than this.”
Fuchs received his Bachelor of Music degree (1979) in composition
from the University of Miami
and his Master of Music (1983) and Doctor of Musical Arts (1988) degrees from the Juilliard School
in New York City
. His teachers included Milton Babbitt
, David Diamond
, Vincent Persichetti
, David Del Tredici
, Alfred Reed
and Stanley Wolfe. The University of Miami Frost School of Music
named him Distinguished Alumnus for the Year 2000. The University of Miami Band of the Hour
Association inducted him into their Hall of Fame in 2008. Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia
, the national music fraternity, named Fuchs a Signature Sinfonian in 2009. The designation "recognizes alumni members who have achieved a high standard of accomplishment in their field or profession, thereby bringing honor to Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Fraternity."
Fuchs has also been deeply committed to arts administration. He served as Head of the Department of Music at the University of Connecticut
from 2005 to 2008. Prior to this, he served as Director of the School of Music at the University of Oklahoma
from 1998 to 2005. Previous administrative positions include Dean of Students and Academics at the Manhattan School of Music
(1990–1998), Assistant Dean of the School of Music at the North Carolina School of the Arts
(1988–1989), and Assistant to the Associate Dean at the Juilliard School
(1985–1988). Fuchs served as a member of the Commission on Accreditation for the National Association of Schools of Music
(2003–2009), evaluating music curricula at collegiate institutions throughout the United States. He served as an on-site evaluator to such institutions as the Cleveland Institute of Music, Curtis Institute of Music, Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University, Arizona State University, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and the University of Washington.
Kenneth Fuchs has composed scores for orchestra, band, solo instruments, voice, chorus, standard and mixed chamber ensembles, and musical theater. His music is published by Edward B. Marks Music Company (an imprint of Carlin America
), Hal Leonard Corporation, Theodore Presser Company
, and Yelton Rhodes Music.
In April 2008, Steve Schwartz wrote on the Moderated Classical Music List,"Kenneth Fuchs studied with, among others, Babbitt, Diamond, and Persichetti. In sound, the bustling Persichetti exercises the dominating influence, but Babbitt probably wields more in Fuchs’s habits of construction. Most immediately, the sound of Fuchs’s music grabs your attention in ways similar to Copland’s. Bright, lean sonorities — high strings, widely-spaced chords, big-shoulder brass, and so on — prevail. Yet, also like Copland, Fuchs has more to offer than orchestration — namely, real matter and argument. Fuchs builds almost all the scores here out of limited sets of intervals or even specific pitches.... It’s all tonal, even mainly diatonic, although not really minimalist, if you care. However, the means allow Fuchs to take an individual approach to tonality. Key-change means less than rhythmic and textural change. The piece takes shape as we hear the basic building blocks — like individual tiles in a mosaic — slipping into place."
Recordings of his music include:
This recording was nominated for two 2005 Grammy Awards in the categories "Best Instrumental Soloist with Orchestra (Thomas Stacy, English horn, and JoAnn Falletta for Eventide) and "Producer of the Year, Classical" (Michael Fine).
Kenneth Fuchs resides in Mansfield Center, Connecticut. His life partner
since 1980 is graphic designer Chris von Rosenvinge. They were married in Connecticut on April 28, 2009, the first day of their thirtieth year as a couple.
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
Conducting
Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. The primary duties of the conductor are to unify performers, set the tempo, execute clear preparations and beats, and to listen critically and shape the sound of the ensemble...
, and educator. He currently serves as Professor of Music Composition at the University of Connecticut
University of Connecticut
The admission rate to the University of Connecticut is about 50% and has been steadily decreasing, with about 28,000 prospective students applying for admission to the freshman class in recent years. Approximately 40,000 prospective students tour the main campus in Storrs annually...
(Storrs).
Fuchs has composed music for orchestra, band, chorus, and various chamber ensembles. With Pulitzer Prize
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
-winning playwright Lanford Wilson
Lanford Wilson
Lanford Wilson was an American playwright who helped to advance the Off-Off-Broadway theater movement. He received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1980, was elected in 2001 to the Theater Hall of Fame, and in 2004 was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters...
, he created three chamber musicals, The Great Nebula in Orion, A Betrothal, and Brontosaurus, which were originally presented by Circle Repertory Company
Circle Repertory Company
The Circle Repertory Company, originally named the Circle Theater Company, was a theatre company in New York City that ran from 1969 to 1996. It was founded on July 14, 1969, in Manhattan, in a second floor loft at Broadway and 83rd Street by director Marshall W...
in New York City. His music is regularly performed in the United States, Europe, China, and Japan.
The London Symphony Orchestra
London Symphony Orchestra
The London Symphony Orchestra is a major orchestra of the United Kingdom, as well as one of the best-known orchestras in the world. Since 1982, the LSO has been based in London's Barbican Centre.-History:...
, under the baton of JoAnn Falletta
JoAnn Falletta
JoAnn Falletta is an American classical musician and orchestral conductor.Falletta was educated at the Mannes College of Music and The Juilliard School in New York City...
, has recorded three discs of Fuchs’s music. The first, released 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...
in August 2005, was nominated for two Grammy Awards. The second disc, which features music for horn, was released by Naxos in January 2008. Following the release of this disc, Musicweb International stated in February 2008, “Fuchs's distinctive voice is evident from the outset, and his flair for orchestral colours and sheer lyricism shine through.” The third disc, recorded in August 2011 at London's historic Abbey Road Studios, will be released by Naxos in August 2012.
The Adrian Symphony Orchestra in Michigan appointed Fuchs as composer in residence for the 2009-10 seasons. In collaboration with music director John Thomas Dodson, the residency included world premiere performances of five works. The residency concluded with the premiere of Divinum Mysterium (concerto for viola and orchestra) on April 10, 2010. The concerto was composed especially for London Symphony Orchestra principal Paul Silverthorne, who performed the premiere in Adrian. Silverthorne recorded the work with the LSO for Fuchs's third Naxos disc on August 19, 2011.
In 2008, the United States Air Force Academy Band (Colorado Springs) commissioned Fuchs’s work for band United Artists. Following performances on tour throughout the U.S., the band recorded the work for inclusion on their new disc Windscapes, which was released in December 2009. The work was simultaneously published and released by the Hal Leonard Corporation, the world’s largest music print publisher. Since its release the work has been played by high school and college bands throughout the United States and in China. In September 2011, Hal Leonard published Fuchs's newest work for band Discover the Wild.
Fuchs was selected by Marin Alsop
Marin Alsop
Marin Alsop is an American conductor and violinist. She is the music director of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra.In 2012, Alsop will replace Yan Pascal Tortelier as principal conductor of the São Paulo State Symphony Orchestra....
as one of ten composers in residence for the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music in August 2007. Alsop conducted the world premiere of the original orchestral version of Fuchs's work United Artists, following which critic Jason Victor Serinus wrote in the American Record Guide
American Record Guide
The American Record Guide is a classical music magazine. It has reviewed classical music recordings since 1935.Since 1992, with the incorporation of the Musical America editorial functions into ARG, it started covering concerts, musicians, ensembles and orchestras in the US.The magazine prides...
, "the work's dramatic, resounding chords and gloriously ringing flourishes constitute a modern fanfare of sorts."
The highly successful disc Kenneth Fuchs: String Quartets 2, 3, 4 performed by the American String Quartet was released by Albany Records
Albany Records
Albany Records is an American classical music record label focusing particularly on contemporary classical music. It was established by Peter Kermani in 1987, and is based in Albany, New York.-External links:**...
in 2001. Following the release of this disc, the American Record Guide
American Record Guide
The American Record Guide is a classical music magazine. It has reviewed classical music recordings since 1935.Since 1992, with the incorporation of the Musical America editorial functions into ARG, it started covering concerts, musicians, ensembles and orchestras in the US.The magazine prides...
stated quite simply, “String quartet recordings don’t get much better than this.”
Fuchs received his Bachelor of Music degree (1979) in 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 :...
from the University of Miami
University of Miami
The University of Miami is a private, non-sectarian university founded in 1925 with its main campus in Coral Gables, Florida, a medical campus in Miami city proper at Civic Center, and an oceanographic research facility on Virginia Key., the university currently enrolls 15,629 students in 12...
and his Master of Music (1983) and Doctor of Musical Arts (1988) degrees from the Juilliard School
Juilliard School
The Juilliard School, located at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City, United States, is a performing arts conservatory which was established in 1905...
in New York City
New 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...
. His teachers included Milton Babbitt
Milton Babbitt
Milton Byron Babbitt was an American composer, music theorist, and teacher. He is particularly noted for his serial and electronic music.-Biography:...
, David Diamond
David Diamond (composer)
David Leo Diamond was an American composer of classical music.-Life and career:He was born in Rochester, New York and studied at the Cleveland Institute of Music and the Eastman School of Music under Bernard Rogers, also receiving lessons from Roger Sessions in New York City and Nadia Boulanger in...
, Vincent Persichetti
Vincent Persichetti
Vincent Ludwig Persichetti was an American composer, teacher, and pianist. An important musical educator and writer, Persichetti was a native of Philadelphia...
, David Del Tredici
David Del Tredici
David Del Tredici, born March 16, 1937 in Cloverdale, California, is an American composer. According to Del Tredici's website, Aaron Copland said David Del Tredici "is that rare find among composers — a creator with a truly original gift...
, Alfred Reed
Alfred Reed
Alfred Reed was one of North America's most prolific and frequently performed composers, with more than two hundred published works for concert band, wind ensemble, orchestra, chorus, and chamber ensemble to his name...
and Stanley Wolfe. The University of Miami Frost School of Music
Frost School of Music
The Phillip and Patricia Frost School of Music or Frost School of Music of the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida, known from 1926 to 2003 as University of Miami School of Music, is a music school in the United States....
named him Distinguished Alumnus for the Year 2000. The University of Miami Band of the Hour
Band of the Hour
The Frost Band of the Hour is the marching band at the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida. The band plays at all home football games and one away game. It also travels to post-season football bowl games in years that the football team plays at one. The university also has separate...
Association inducted him into their Hall of Fame in 2008. Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia
Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia
Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia is an American collegiate social fraternity for men with a special interest in music...
, the national music fraternity, named Fuchs a Signature Sinfonian in 2009. The designation "recognizes alumni members who have achieved a high standard of accomplishment in their field or profession, thereby bringing honor to Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Fraternity."
Fuchs has also been deeply committed to arts administration. He served as Head of the Department of Music at the University of Connecticut
University of Connecticut
The admission rate to the University of Connecticut is about 50% and has been steadily decreasing, with about 28,000 prospective students applying for admission to the freshman class in recent years. Approximately 40,000 prospective students tour the main campus in Storrs annually...
from 2005 to 2008. Prior to this, he served as Director of the School of Music at the University of Oklahoma
University of Oklahoma
The University of Oklahoma is a coeducational public research university located in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two became the state of Oklahoma. the university had 29,931 students enrolled, most located at its...
from 1998 to 2005. Previous administrative positions include Dean of Students and Academics at the Manhattan School of Music
Manhattan School of Music
The Manhattan School of Music is a major music conservatory located on the Upper West Side of New York City. The school offers degrees on the bachelors, masters, and doctoral levels in the areas of classical and jazz performance and composition...
(1990–1998), Assistant Dean of the School of Music at the North Carolina School of the Arts
North Carolina School of the Arts
The University of North Carolina School of the Arts , formerly the North Carolina School of the Arts, is a public coeducational arts conservatory in Winston-Salem, North Carolina that grants high school, undergraduate and graduate degrees. It is one of the seventeen constituent campuses of the...
(1988–1989), and Assistant to the Associate Dean at the Juilliard School
Juilliard School
The Juilliard School, located at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City, United States, is a performing arts conservatory which was established in 1905...
(1985–1988). Fuchs served as a member of the Commission on Accreditation for the National Association of Schools of Music
National Association of Schools of Music
The National Association of Schools of Music is an association of post-secondary music schools in the United States and the principal U.S. accreditor for higher education in music...
(2003–2009), evaluating music curricula at collegiate institutions throughout the United States. He served as an on-site evaluator to such institutions as the Cleveland Institute of Music, Curtis Institute of Music, Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University, Arizona State University, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and the University of Washington.
Kenneth Fuchs has composed scores for orchestra, band, solo instruments, voice, chorus, standard and mixed chamber ensembles, and musical theater. His music is published by Edward B. Marks Music Company (an imprint of Carlin America
Carlin America
Carlin America is an independent music publishing conglomerate with a catalog of over 100,000 titles. The company, created under its current name in 1995 by its founder Freddy Bienstock is headquartered on East 38th Street in Manhattan.Its songs include...
), Hal Leonard Corporation, Theodore Presser Company
Theodore Presser Company
The Theodore Presser Company is an American music publishing and distribution company located in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania and formerly based in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. It is the oldest continuing music publisher in the United States.-Theodore Presser:...
, and Yelton Rhodes Music.
In April 2008, Steve Schwartz wrote on the Moderated Classical Music List,"Kenneth Fuchs studied with, among others, Babbitt, Diamond, and Persichetti. In sound, the bustling Persichetti exercises the dominating influence, but Babbitt probably wields more in Fuchs’s habits of construction. Most immediately, the sound of Fuchs’s music grabs your attention in ways similar to Copland’s. Bright, lean sonorities — high strings, widely-spaced chords, big-shoulder brass, and so on — prevail. Yet, also like Copland, Fuchs has more to offer than orchestration — namely, real matter and argument. Fuchs builds almost all the scores here out of limited sets of intervals or even specific pitches.... It’s all tonal, even mainly diatonic, although not really minimalist, if you care. However, the means allow Fuchs to take an individual approach to tonality. Key-change means less than rhythmic and textural change. The piece takes shape as we hear the basic building blocks — like individual tiles in a mosaic — slipping into place."
Recordings of his music include:
- Atlantic Riband (for Orchestra); American Rhapsody (Romance for Violin and Orchestra); Concerto Grosso (for String Quartet and String Orchestra); Discover the Wild (for Orchestra); and Divinum Mysterium (Concerto for Viola and Orchestra). London Symphony OrchestraLondon Symphony OrchestraThe London Symphony Orchestra is a major orchestra of the United Kingdom, as well as one of the best-known orchestras in the world. Since 1982, the LSO has been based in London's Barbican Centre.-History:...
conducted by JoAnn Falletta with soloists Michael Ludwig, violin, and Paul Silverthorne, principal viola of the LSO. (Naxos RecordsNaxos RecordsNaxos 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...
8.559723), 2012. - Canticle to the Sun (Concerto for French horn and orchestra); United Artists (for Orchestra); Quiet in the Land (Idyll for flute, clarinet, English horn, viola, and cello); Fire, Ice, and Summer Bronze (Idyll for Brass Quintet After Two Works on Paper by Helen Frankenthaler); and Autumn Rhythm (Idyll for Woodwind Quintet After a Painting by Jackson PollockJackson PollockPaul Jackson Pollock , known as Jackson Pollock, was an influential American painter and a major figure in the abstract expressionist movement. During his lifetime, Pollock enjoyed considerable fame and notoriety. He was regarded as a mostly reclusive artist. He had a volatile personality, and...
). London Symphony OrchestraLondon Symphony OrchestraThe London Symphony Orchestra is a major orchestra of the United Kingdom, as well as one of the best-known orchestras in the world. Since 1982, the LSO has been based in London's Barbican Centre.-History:...
conducted by JoAnn Falletta with soloist Timothy Jones, principal horn of the LSO. (Naxos RecordsNaxos RecordsNaxos 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...
8.559335), 2008. - Out of the Dark (Suite for Chamber Orchestra After Three Paintings by Helen FrankenthalerHelen FrankenthalerHelen Frankenthaler is an American abstract expressionist painter. She is a major contributor to the history of postwar American painting. Having exhibited her work in six decades she has spanned several generations of abstract painters while continuing to produce vital and ever-changing new work...
); Eventide (Concerto for English Horn, Harp, Percussion, and String Orchestra); and An American Place (for Orchestra). London Symphony OrchestraLondon Symphony OrchestraThe London Symphony Orchestra is a major orchestra of the United Kingdom, as well as one of the best-known orchestras in the world. Since 1982, the LSO has been based in London's Barbican Centre.-History:...
conducted by JoAnn Falletta with soloists Thomas Stacy, English horn, and Timothy Jones, principal French horn of the LSO. (Naxos RecordsNaxos RecordsNaxos 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...
8.559224), 2005.
This recording was nominated for two 2005 Grammy Awards in the categories "Best Instrumental Soloist with Orchestra (Thomas Stacy, English horn, and JoAnn Falletta for Eventide) and "Producer of the Year, Classical" (Michael Fine).
- String Quartets Nos. 2, 3 & 4, American String Quartet, Albany Records (Troy 480), 2001.
- Christina’ s World (Idyll for Winds, Brass, and Percussion), “Christina’ s World,” University of Miami Frost School of Music Wind Ensemble, Albany Records (Troy 403), 2000.
- Face of the Night (After a Painting by Robert MotherwellRobert MotherwellRobert Motherwell American painter, printmaker and editor. He was one of the youngest of the New York School , which also included Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko, Willem de Kooning, and Philip Guston....
), "New York Legends: Recitals with Principals from the New York PhilharmonicNew York PhilharmonicThe New York Philharmonic is a symphony orchestra based in New York City in the United States. It is one of the American orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five"...
," Thomas Stacy, English horn, Cala Records (CACD0511), 1997. - Immigrants Still (Poem by Richard WilburRichard WilburRichard Purdy Wilbur is an American poet and literary translator. He was appointed the second Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress in 1987, and twice received the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry, in 1957 and again in 1989....
), "Songs of Liberation," CONCORA, 2006. - In the Clearing (Eight Poems by Robert FrostRobert FrostRobert Lee Frost was an American poet. He is highly regarded for his realistic depictions of rural life and his command of American colloquial speech. His work frequently employed settings from rural life in New England in the early twentieth century, using them to examine complex social and...
), "In the Clearing," Coro AllegroCoro AllegroCoro Allegro is a classical music choral group based in Boston, Massachusetts, drawing its members from the LGBT community. It was founded in 1990.-Profile and performances:...
(Boston), 1998. - On Silver Wings (Fanfare-Overture for Winds, Brass, and Percussion), “On Silver Wings,” United States Air Force Band of Liberty, 2007.
- United Artists (Fanfare-Overture for Winds, Brass, and Percussion), “Windscapes,” United States Air Force Academy Band, 2010.
Kenneth Fuchs resides in Mansfield Center, Connecticut. His life partner
Life partner
A life partner is a romantic or otherwise very close friend for life. The partners can be of the same or opposite sexes, married or unmarried, and monogamous or polyamorous....
since 1980 is graphic designer Chris von Rosenvinge. They were married in Connecticut on April 28, 2009, the first day of their thirtieth year as a couple.
External links
- Kenneth Fuchs Website
- Albany Records Website
- Cala Records Website
- Hal Leonard Corporation Website
- Edward B. Marks Music Website
- Naxos Records Website
- Theodore Presser Company Website
- Yelton Rhodes Music Website
- Chris von Rosenvinge Website
- Kenneth Fuchs - Curriculum Vitae